The Wingless
by riverflowertheimmortalwolf
Summary: "It's the wingless," they would whisper, "the wingless dragon. The cursed one." She has been scorned for most of her life living in the SkyWing tribe. An outcast. A pity that she was sentenced to death by her own queen. (Rated T for violence. Cover art by author.)
1. Gale

_"You dare challenge me for the throne of the SkyWings?" Queen Amber growled at a big golden orange SkyWing._

 _"Yes," the challenger replied, then hurtled at Amber. The small SkyWing queen dodged nimbly, letting the other dragon crash into a rock wall. The queen waited patiently for her challenger to recover. The bigger dragon lashed her tail._

 _"Why do you challenge me?" Amber questioned. The other SkyWing did not reply. She charged at Amber, who sidestepped. The big dragon expected that, blasting her fire at the queen as she ran past. Amber staggered back, her wings beating frantically to diminish the flames on her scales. Using this as a distraction, the challenger pounced on her back, digging Amber's snout into the ground with her talons._

 _"So you think you can beat me?" the challenger sneered. "Well, I just beat you. And now, I will take your throne." Amber opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, the orange dragon flipped her over and swiftly sliced her throat. Blood poured out of the inevitable wound, slowly forming a red puddle._

 _The challenger stood up. She stepped over Amber's body, leaving bloody talonprints behind._

 _"Ah, yes, I have not introduced myself to you. My name is Queen Topaz, new ruler of the SkyWings."_

* * *

 **Five years later...**

The first time she heard noises was when she was inside the egg, almost ready to hatch. She did not understand what they meant, but she knew they were there.

Muted voices sounded outside her egg.

A high, small voice was what she heard first. "Is it ready to hatch?"

"Not yet." A deeper voice replied.

"When?"

"Any day now."

"I mean like, totally specific?"

"I already told you, I don't know exactly. Now stop pestering your father."

Then she felt her egg being lifted.

A new voice chimed in.

"How is our egg?"

"Oh, it's fine," the deep voice responded. "I see our future dragonet moving inside."

"I hope this one is healthy. The last one died."

"Don't worry."

The voices stopped talking.

The first time she could see was when she hatched. The egg cracked open, and her tiny head thrust through. She staggered out of the egg, tripping over her own talons. Then she blinked open her eyes. Everything hit her like a jolt of lightning. The many colors were strikingly bright. She blinked. It took a while for her to adjust.

Her sunset-colored scales shone in the sunlight filtering in, gold running through the orange. Her eyes were the most peculiar. They were a calm blue-green, with yellow ringed around the edges.

She stared up at two dragons, one a deep gold-red, the other fiery orange. A smaller dark red dragon peered out from behind the two bigger dragons.

"Hello!" The rusty dragonet chirped, hopping in front of her. "My name's Typhoon. I'm your big sister!" The newly hatched baby cocked her head curiously, wondering what _sister_ meant.

"Wait!" The gold-red dragon pushed Typhoon aside. "Look! This one has a flaw!" He pointed to her back.

The hatchling had no wings.

"Turbulence!" The orange dragon gasped. "You aren't going to report our flawed hatchling, are you? Like your brother did last time?"

Turbulence winced. "Of course not, Sunset, dear."

"Even so, a patrol will come and check on us," Typhoon interrupted, "like they always do."

"My little daughter," Sunset curled around the hatchling. She looked up and squeaked.

"What should we name her?" Turbulence asked. "Maybe Canyon? She has nice orange scales."

"Or Streak?" Typhoon suggested. "I'm sure that she can run like the wind. If SkyWings could fly real fast, then she could run too!"

"Run like the wind…" Sunset murmured. "That's it. I have the perfect name."

The two other SkyWing leaned closer to her.

"Her name shall be Gale. This is a good SkyWing name. She will run as fast as the wind, faster than any other dragon have seen. She will be a gale."

* * *

 **Nearly five years later...**

Gale crashed through the undergrowth, chasing after a deer. She growled as she bumped into trees and branches. The deer galloped out of sight. Suddenly, Gale tripped over a log and fell flat onto her snout.

"Get back here, prey!" Gale shouted, popping back up to her feet, only to whack her head into a branch. She rubbed her head, scowling.

"Are you okay?" Typhoon padded up. Gale's sister was one year from being a full-grown dragon.

"No," Gale growled. "Three moons! Five years, and I am _still_ unsuccessful in hunting prey. I really hate it when I can't hunt for myself."

"Let's go home," Typhoon suggested kindly. "We can play hunt again." Gale nodded. Another dragon flew down next to Typhoon, slightly bigger, and one year older. He had a mix of red and shining golden scales, just like Turbulence.

"I'll help fly you back home, Gale," the dragon offered.

"Our brother," Typhoon greeted. "Whirlwind." They set off for the high ledges. Since Gale had no wings, she needed air transport. This meant that two dragons were to assist her. One dragon who carry her on their back, since she was only a dragonet. If that dragon got tired, then the second dragon could carry Gale.

Gale thought that was extremely annoying if other SkyWings outside her family carried her. They would carry her hanging underneath them, their claws digging into her sides. Sometimes, on their backs, they would accidentally let her slip and almost fall.

Not that those dragons really wanted to assist her.

Everywhere Gale went, there were whispers and stares. Some would glare at Gale, hating her for her flaw, while others would have pity in their eyes. A few looked disgusted at her lack of wings, and merely thought her an overgrown lizard. Gale didn't want any attention. She felt like a fish out of the water.

"It's the wingless," they would whisper, "the wingless dragon. The cursed one."

Gale shook her head clear of these thoughts and instead tried to enjoy the wind coursing through her scales.

Whirlwind took a turn carrying Gale, then finally landed onto a high ledge. Gale slid down his red back.

The three siblings sat there for a while, staring at the sea crashing against the rocks many, many winglengths below.

"Tomorrow is your hatching day," Whirlwind told me. "You'll be five years old by then." I nodded.

"We can celebrate!" Typhoon piped in.

"Wait," Whirlwind halted Typhoon, a shadow crossing his gaze. "We can't." Typhoon went still, her wings drooping and her eyes sad. She agreed reluctantly.

"Why?" Gale asked the two SkyWings. "What is it?" Whirlwind only turned away. Typhoon swallowed, refused to look Gale in the eye, instead staring at the ground ashamedly.

"What is it?" Gale repeated. _What is my siblings hiding from me?_

Typhoon only shook her head.

Gale had not heard what her brother and sister had said to each other. She wondered why they were suddenly being so secretive now. They usually never kept things from her. So why were they doing it now? Was it because of her having no wings?

Little did she know, this hatching day was going to be the worst day in her life.


	2. Execution

Gale woke up to loud voices. She twitched irritably. What was going on? She tried to go back to sleep, but the voices got louder, and she heard scuffling outside. The wingless dragon gave up trying to sleep, and opened her eyes to see what was going on.

SkyWing soldiers suddenly burst into her family's den. Turbulence blocked their way, trying to talk to them.

"Can't you just give her more time? Er, she's just a dragonet, you know. Why don't we sit down and-"

"Shut your mouth, Turbulence!" The lead of the SkyWing soldiers growled, shoving past Gale's father. He staggered back, crashing against the stone wall. Sunset stood frozen, shocked.

"There! That wingless dragon!" the lead SkyWing yelled. Two SkyWings seized her.

"Please!" Sunset begged. "I beg you to stop! She is only a dragonet!" Gale was too surprised to struggle as the soldiers dragged her out into the open. _What's going on? Why is Mother saying that I'm only a dragonet?_

Dread rose from the pit of her stomach, engulfing Gale like a choking blanket. Gale swallowed. _What did I do? I have a bad feeling about this._

The dragons ungraciously flew her away. Eventually, Gale saw an outline of the mountains. The SkyWings flew to nearly the tallest mountain. They dumped her on a high ledge. An amazing amount of SkyWings surrounded her. Probably hundreds. Gale gaped at the dragons. What _was_ going on? There was almost an entire tribe of dragons gathered here! She even spotted some dragonets clinging to their parents.

A big rich golden-orange SkyWing stood in front of her. She wore many necklaces and armlets made out of gold and shiny jewels. A circle of small jewels were embedded in her forehead, all purple. She stood tall with confidence, her slender neck curved in an elegant way.

Any dragon could recognize this SkyWing.

 _The queen of the SkyWings_ , Gale gazed up in awe, tiny in contrast. _Queen Topaz._

Queen Topaz stared down at the wingless dragonet. She sniffed. "This is the worst case of a flaw. _SkyWings_ are the strongest fliers, yet this one has none. How ironic."

Gale spotted Typhoon and Whirlwind behind the crowd of waiting dragons. Guilt and shame were written all over their faces. _Typhoon? Whirlwind? What's happening?_

The SkyWing queen cleared her throat. "You must wonder why I invited almost the all of the SkyWings. Here, a flawed dragonet stands before you. It has...no wings." Half of the crowd gasped. _Everyone could see that_ , Gale thought bitterly. _Or maybe some of them haven't seen me until now?_

"Do we want this mistake to live?" Topaz raised her voice. "Do we want it to pass down more flaws to newer generations? To _make them impure_?"

"NO!" A few SkyWings shouted. Some of them looked dismayed and horrified.

"Gale's not a mistake!" Typhoon yelled, pushing her way to the front of the crowd.

"Yes," her quieter brother agreed. "Indeed."

"Are you defending this impurity?" Topaz pointed a talon at Gale. "Then I may as will make an example out of you too. What do you think of me tearing of your wings now?" Typhoon opened her mouth to retort, but Whirlwind nudged her. She fell silent, glaring at Topaz.

Just then, they heard flapping. Sunset and Turbulence landed onto the ledge.

"To make an example out of this wingless creature, it will be thrown off this ledge!" Topaz announced, spreading her enormous wings dramatically."Guards!"

Suddenly, Gale realized what was happening. She was being killed...for her flaw. The queen seemed to hate flaws, and believed that flawed dragons should be killed because they were weak.

Gale started biting and struggling when the guards grabbed her. Whirlwind and Typhoon started forwards, but soldiers barricaded their way.

"No!" Turbulence roared. "Stop! She's my daughter! You said you would give her seven years!" He leaped onto one of the dragons dragging Gale. "She's not full-grown to survive by herself!" Sunset stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

"You will not barge into this execution!" Topaz snarled, jerking Turbulence back by his tail. "I have waited too long. You are lucky that I didn't kill that creature when it hatched." Turbulence spun around and headbutted the queen in answer.

Topaz had a look of surprise in her eyes, as if she had not expected an inferior dragon to oppose her. Turbulence butted Topaz again. Topaz, because of her bulk, barely budged. She slammed a wing over his head, dazing him.

"You will die like your daughter will," Topaz sneered. With vicious swipes, she shredded Turbulance's wing membrane. Then she heaved the still-dazed dragon off the ledge. He fell soundlessly, disappearing into the fog below.

Gale stared down after her father despairingly. Sunset screamed, and took off in an attempt to save Turbulence. Three guards piled down onto her, bringing her down.

"You will have no more eggs," Topaz hissed to Sunset. "You will be separated from your son and daughter. You will become the lowest of the lowest. You will join those others who have had flawed hatchlings before. Join them, _now_ , in that faraway outpost in the ocean. This is your punishment for having a flawed hatchling." The three dragons got off Sunset. Without a word, Sunset jumped off the edge and begin flying away, accompanied by the three guards. She glanced back, grief already clouding her eyes.

"This is the order of the SkyWing queen," Topaz declared. Gale saw the horror on her siblings' faces. _Well, there's nothing you can do. You'll only get killed if you interfere._ Gale stopped struggling. _What's the point?_

Gale stood at the edge of the ledge. She looked down, and closed her eyes for a moment. _I'm coming with you, Father._

Before the guards could do anything, Gale dropped off the ledge. She saw the look of surprise on their faces. _Good,_ Gale thought with satisfaction. _Never expected me to do it myself, eh?_

Gale closed her eyes again. She was falling, the sensation all too familiar. When she was smaller, she had tried to fly. She had always ended up with scratches and bruises.

But this time, it was real. She was going to die. The wingless.

* * *

 **Will Gale survive or not? Wait until the next chapter!**


	3. The Hidden Dragons

Gale heard Typhoon scream. She snapped her eyes open. At the last moment, the fog engulfed her. Gale panicked, _Okay, so maybe this death won't be a pretty one!_ She imagined herself going _splat_. _This isn't my best hatching day._

Gale regretted jumping. The air cut through her scales, not smooth like flying, but sharp, almost like claws. The jagged rocks below determined how she was going to die.

Cold claws grabbed Gale's back, jerking her to a savage halt. Gale's brain rattled, dazing her as she heard powerful wings beat.

"Hold on, there," a voice urged from above Gale. Gale looked up groggily to see a _white_ dragon flying her. She appeared to be a slightly older dragonet.

"Wha…?" Gale squinted. "Are you...an IceWing? What are IceWings doing so far east?"

"You'll see," came a curt reply. Gale let herself relax. She studied her savior. The dragon was not completely white. She had the occasional gold shimmering on her scales. She seemed to have most of the features of a SkyWing, but she had the whip-thin tail of an IceWing.

Gale realized that this dragon was a mix between a SkyWing and an IceWing. Before she could say anything, the dragon landed her gently onto the ground. Gale looked around. She was in a forest, with the mountains a faint silhouette in the distance.

SkyWings surrounded her. One SkyWing, a huge red one, padded up to Gale. Old wounds crisscrossed his snout, neck, and shoulders. When Gale moved her gaze to his back, she stifled a gasp. He was missing a right wing. He was not able to fly, just like her.

"Hello, young one," the old SkyWing's eyes were friendly. "My name is Zephyr. I am the leader of the Flawed. I know my missing wing is a shock to you, but you don't have to worry."

"Her name is Gale," the white dragon told Zephyr.

"I see," Zephyr studied her. "Her flaw is very noticeable. Kunzite, can you show her around?"

The SkyWing named Kunzite nodded. "Gale, this is your new home. You'll be safe here." Gale gazed around in wonder. This was like a new tribe of SkyWings! Then she started to notice something odd about them.

"As you see," Kunzite went on, "Topaz ordered your death. This was the case with a few of the SkyWings here, who have flaws just like you. Some were exiled instead. Zephyr started to save the flawed dragons from death, and banded them together to be stronger. I was exiled because of my IceWing origins. This is why I'm white. Zephyr found me and took me in." Gale noticed that the dragonet did not refer to the SkyWing queen as queen.

"Didn't she see you carry me off?" Gale inquired.

Kunzite shook her head. "Topaz never bothered to watch you die. She was already flying back to her palace by the time you were saved."

Anger brimmed underneath Gale's scales. It seemed like the SkyWing queen didn't care about her at all! _Of course not,_ a small voice said in her head. _You have no wings. You're flawed._

"So...um," Gale started, "What happened to Zephyr's wing? Was he born like that too?"

"Before he was exiled, he tried to defend a flawed dragon," Kunzite explained. "Topaz ordered her guards to hold him down. She went right over, and ripped his right wing clean off. She said that was an example to those who defied her. Then she exiled him, along with that flawed dragon."

Gale stared at her. "Did she really do that?"

Kunzite nodded. "Uh-huh. A shock, isn't it? How cruel Topaz can really be? That's why Zephyr is saving us flawed dragons. To create an army to overthrow that tyrant."

"Overthrow?" Gale echoed. "Aren't you too few in number? Don't your flaws prove as a huge weakness?"

"We can use _that_ to our advantage," Kunzite's eyes gleamed. "When I first come out into the sun, I can dazzle the enemy with my white scales. They'll think I'm an IceWing at first, not an exiled SkyWing. Besides, _I have frostbreath_. Isn't that so cool?" Gale leaped back immediately, alarmed.

Kunzite chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm on your side. See how fast you leaped back? You can run faster than any dragon have seen. They'll think you're weak because you have no wings. But you're really fast, not burdened with wings. So you can dodge a lot."

"I'm really clumsy in the forest," Gale argued. "I can't catch anything!"

"Zephyr can teach you," Kunzite suggested. "He can do it. Come on, I'll show you some of my friends. They're plenty friendly." Gale followed Kunzite, looking around at the SkyWings. She noticed most of them had some kind of flaw, but a few seemed normal enough.

"Some of these SkyWIngs have no flaws, right?" Gale questioned Kunzite.

"Yeah." Kunzite answered. "A few decided to flee from Topaz's rule. They snuck out during the night." She headed straight for two SkyWings.

One of them, a full-grown red dragon, had an eye missing. The other looked to be around six years old, and was a pale gold color. _Handsome eyes_ , Gale thought.

"Hello, Kunzite," the dragon with the one eye greeted. "Who is this new dragon?"

"My name is Gale," Gale spoke. "As you can see, my flaw is having no wings."

"Beautiful," the almost full-grown SkyWing scanned her. "The worse the flaw, the better." Gale tipped her head in puzzlement. How could a bad flaw be good?

"Gale, this is Cyclone," Kunzite indicated to the one-eyed dragon. "And the other is Beryl."

"A pleasure to meet you, sweetheart," Beryl stood up and bowed with lavish, his slender snout touching the ground. Gale giggled.

"Oh, come on!" Kunzite stomped her foot and rolled her eyes. "Beryl always tries to be funny. Don't pay attention to him. He loves to exaggerate."

Gale noticed a clawmark over where Cyclone used to have an eye. "Um, not to bother you, Cyclone, but how did you get that?"

Cyclone guessed what she was talking about. "Ah, my eye scar. I got it in a battle with MudWings. Topaz figured that since I couldn't see anymore, I was weak. So she exiled me."

"Are you one of those normal SkyWings?" Gale asked Beryl.

"Nah," Beryl waved a talon dismissively. "I look normal, but I can't breathe fire. Pretty fun, right?"

"What's with your sarcasm?" Kunzite scowled as fiercely as she could. "I could do better than that."

"Could you?" Beryl raised an eye ridge in a questioning manner. Cyclone started to snort.

"Huh," Kunzite tuned away. "Come on, Gale."

Beryl gave her a silly grin, and started waving his wings around. "BYE! GOOD TRAVELS! I"M GOING TO MISS YOU! BYE!" This attracted other dragons' attention. THey started to look at him, irritated.

"Oh, THREE MOONS!" Kunzite hollered back. "Will you just stop yelling and shut up!" Beryl grinned again, this time wider. Kunzite started walking again, finally stopping at a spot where there were shallow dips between the thick roots of a tree, packed with moss. The tree's branches draped low to the ground. Kunzite, who was bigger, had to duck under the branches.

"You can sleep next to me," Kunzite chirped. "Look! I packed your spot with brand-new moss!" Gale stared at the shallow dips. She sat down, surprised at how soft it was. Back in her old den, she had slept on flat stone. The dip made her feel a bit squished.

The rest of the day, Kunzite continued showing her around, and introducing her to new dragons. Gale couldn't help but worry about her family, though. Then she remembered Turbulence.

At night, when Gale was eating a deer, Kunzite noticed her grief. "Is it your father?"

"How did you know?" Gale inquired.

"I was there," Kunzite replied. "I'm sorry. You can avenge him, when we go to battle."

"Battle?" Gale echoed.

"Yes," Kunzite suddenly had a slight growl in her voice. "Battle. Zephyr plans to do this soon enough. He started training just now."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready," Gale swallowed.

"Ah, don't worry!" Kunzite's voice suddenly turned cheerful. "Zephyr will teach you. Today's your hatching day, right? Well, we can celebrate it properly! How about a cow?"

Gale nodded, but wasn't paying attention to her. No celebration would make her hatching day happy, like the years before. _If only the guards never came…_

* * *

Sunset stared into the sea, her face blank. She was with four other female SkyWings. She looked up when five other SkyWings landed down.

"Your shift has ended," one of them said softly. "We will take over." Sighing with relief, Sunset and the first shift SkyWings took off.

"Queen Topaz has yet found another flawed," another called after the dragons. "She decides to kill it right away, even though it is only a month old. Just to inform you."

"Thanks," Sunset called over her shoulder. One by one, the SkyWings beside her departed as she flew. Finally, when she landed near the SkyWings palace, there was none left.

There was a gathering crowd. Sunset tried to push around the crowd, eventually coming to the front.

Topaz was in the middle, holding a tiny blind dragonet by its neck. He squeaked in terror, struggling weakly.

The queen was about to kill him.

"Stop!" Sunset cried out, leaping in front of the huge dragon. "This is only a one-month old dragonet!"  
"It is blind," Queen Topaz rasped. "It is weak, and must be killed immediately."

"But he is only one-month old!" Sunset insisted. A small female SkyWing peeked out meekly from the crowd.

"Please don't kill my dragonet," she pleaded quietly.

Topaz dropped the dragonet. He fell to the ground, whimpering.

"Enough!" the queen bellowed. "You arrogant little low-life, get back to your outpost! Do not defy your queen, _creature_."

Sunset openly growled at the queen, smoke rising from her nostrils. She stamped once, snapping open her big orange wings in defiance.

"Queen Topaz, I challenge you for the throne of the SkyWings."


	4. Reunion and Loss

The crowd instantly went silent. No SkyWing in Topaz's reign had dared to challenge her, because she was so big and intimidating. It was said that Topaz killed the previous queen, Amber.

Queen Topaz scoffed. " _You_ , of all the SkyWings, a mere worm, dare to challenge me?"

"Yes," Sunset replied steadily. While Queen Topaz was busy, the mother of the blind dragonet stepped forwards to pick him up, and drew back into the crowd.

"Very well," Topaz growled, fire spurting out of her nostrils. "You chose to die."

"I choose to fight for what is right," Sunset retorted. "I choose to fight...for Gale and Turbulence."

"After I am done with you, I will kill your remaining son and daughter," Topaz spat. "Turbulence was a traitor. So are you. They must have a traitor's blood in their veins, too."

"They don't," Sunset growled. Topaz lunged for her. Sunset dived to the side, and shot a stream of fire into Topaz's face. The bigger dragon screeched and rage and confusion. No dragon had ever landed the first blow on her. There was a murmur of approval among the crowd. Sunset was a better fighter than they expected. She was usually known to them as quiet.

The small dragon landed on Topaz's back, digging her claws into her scales. Topaz bucked, flinging Sunset off. As Sunset landed, Topaz turned around agilely and thudded onto her.

"Look what you did to my pretty face," Topaz snarled. Nearly half of her face was black-brown, smoking. Sunset slipped out of Topaz's grasp, clawing the burned side of the queen's face. Topaz backed away, blood dripping from her snout. "Fine, you win."

Sunset stood up, facing Topaz. "What do you-"

Topaz lunged without warning, slamming Sunset down onto the ground. She looked up, confusion flitting across her eyes. Topaz returned her gaze scornfully. Sunset scrabbled at Topaz's scales uselessly. Topaz grinned wickedly. "You can never win, and become queen. You were a stupid, blind, fool to defy me. Now you will pay the price." As she said this, she sucked in a breath, black smoke pluming out of her mouth.

Sunset stared her down bravely. "I would rather die burning in battle then live knowing that you are killing helpless dragons **,** not doing anything to stop you. At least I tried."

"Your choice," Queen Topaz said smugly, shooting fire out of her mouth.

Meanwhile, the mother with the blind dragon slipped away from the crowd, Sunset's last screams echoing in her ears.

"Mama?" The blind dragon squeaked.

The female dragon tucked him tighter against her chest. "Hush, Mistral." She flew .as fast as she could, eventually nearing Typhoon's and Whirlwind's den. She landed. "Hello?"

Typhoon emerged, bleary-eyed. "Gust? What are you doing here? Wasn't your hatchling supposed to be...dead?"

"Sunset, your mother," Gust lowered her snout. "She...she challenged Queen Topaz."

"WHAT?" Whirlwind burst out of the den. "What in Pyrrhia was Mother thinking? We have to help her, now!"

Gust shook her head sadly. "She was killed. Why she was so foolish, I do not know." The two siblings stared at her, unbelieving.

"No, no, not Mother too," Typhoon whispered.

"Queen Topaz will come here too," Gust informed them. "She'll come and kill you, too. You must get out of here, now."

Whirlwind sighed. "I suppose we can fly south. There's nothing else left for us anyways." Typhoon hesitated for a moment, then agreed. Gust blinked. She didn't expect them to agree so fast.

"I'm leaving too," Gust told them. "I'd rather leave than watch my little Mistral die in the talons of a tyrant."

"Let's go, then," Typhoon flapped her wings, rising up.

"Where Mama and Misal go?" Mistral asked as the three dragons fled.

"We're going to a new home. A safe place," Gust assured the hatchling. He lifted his snout, then said, "Misal love Mama. Misal want be with Mama forever."

"Forever," Gust echoed. "Yes, little Mistral, I will be with you forever."

* * *

Gale gasped for breath. She ducked underneath a branch, narrowly missing it. Zephyr was just ahead of her, moving through the trees fluidly. Gale tripped over a rock. Growling to herself, she popped back up to her talons and started running again. Gale increased her speed, the forest whizzing past her. She was almost there! She just had to tag Zephyr's tail, and she would win. The wingless dragon took a great leap, her claws reaching out of his tail. His tail was so close! If only she could-

 _Wham!_ A tree branch whacked Gale in the face. She abruptly stopped, gritting her teeth from the pain. Zephyr slowed **,** circling around the trees, eventually coming to a stop next to Gale.

"You will need more practice," Zephyr decided. "At this rate, you won't be able to hunt. Okay, let's try again tomorrow."

Gale sighed. "Yes. Let's head back."

As they walked back, they heard a faint sounds of commotion. Gale ran ahead of Zephyr, bursting out into the open.

Four newcomers had arrived. The other SkyWings called greetings to them. Gale assumed these dragons were exiled.

She went up to say hello to them. There was a mother dragon with a tiny dragonet nestled in her arms. The mother dragon gently set her son down next to her. Recognition flickered in her eyes as she saw Gale. "Hello, my name is Gust, and this is my dragonet, Mistral. Oh! That wingless dragon that fell off the ledge! How did you survive?"

"A friend caught me before I hit the ground," Gale replied. "She carried me here. You and your dragonet will be safe. Gale turned to the other two dragons. She froze. They looked so...familiar. "Whirlwind? Typhoon?"

"GAAAALE!" Typhoon literally flew at Gale, wrapping her enormous wings around her. "I never thought I would see you again!" Gale let out an "oof" as she was knocked down by the bigger dragon.

The wingless dragon smiled. "I'm glad to see you well." After Typhoon got off, her quieter brother stared at her unbelievingly.

"Is that you, Gale?"

"Yes," Gale answered.

Whirlwind walked forwards, and embraced her. He rested his snout on her shoulder for a moment, before stepping away. "I'm happy to see you alive, Gale."

"Me, too," Gale said warmly.

Zephyr thrust his way to the front of the crowd. "You are welcome to stay here and be sheltered. Have you been exiled by Topaz?" Gust gaped at Zephyr's missing wing.

Gust and Gale's siblings glanced at each other, their eyes shadowed with doubt.

"Well…" Gust hesitated. "You see...your mother challenged Queen Topaz."

"Her?" Gale's head shot up. "Where is she? How could she do that?"

"She died," Gust said plainly. "She was a fool to challenge such a powerful dragon."

"Mama!" Mistral squeaked. "Sunset save Misal! Sunset made bad dragon go!"

"Your son speaks true," Whirlwind confirmed. "And Mother as not a fool. You are wrong if you think so. She died to protect your son."

Gust stared at Gale's brother for a moment, then shook her head as if to clear something. "My apologies. I have forgotten." Gale suddenly noticed that Mistral had milky eyes that looked blank and unseeing.

"Your son is blind, I presume?" Zephyr asked Gust. She immediately looked embarrassed, putting a wing over her son's head, partially covering him.

"Don't worry," Kunzite said somewhere in the crowd. "We all have some kind of flaw." Gust relaxed a little.

"Come with me," a dragon with a missing paw limped up to Gust. "I will show you around."

"I'll show you where I stay," Gale told her siblings. As they followed her, Gale felt a pang of longing. First, it was her father, and now, her mother.

"Did you see Mother die?" Gale asked them quietly.

"No," Whirlwind answered. "But Gust saved us by warning that Queen Topaz would kill us by the time...by the time she was finished with Mother."

"It's amazing how Zephyr hid all these dragons," Typhoon commented. "How does he do this?"

"Well, there's always a lookout in the treetops, who is camouflaged with leaves," Gale explained. "When any patrol, SkyWing or not, is seen, the Flawed - that's us - are alerted. Any dragon who is flying must come down to the cover of the trees. This forest is so thick, our colors cannot be seen."

"Cool," Whirlwind said.

"Here's the resting place," Gale brushed past the branches swinging overhead. "There are already some dips in the ground, made for new arrivals."

Typhoon sat on one. "This feels weird."

"You'll get used to it," Gale assured her sister. "There are some friends of mine that you can meet here. Meanwhile, I'm going to train how to use my weakness to an advantage."

Before her siblings could say anything, a white dragon walked up to them.

"Hello!" Kunzite greeted. "My name is Kunzite. I'm a friend of Gale's. Care to talk with me? I also have a couple other friends you will want to meet! Oh, I'm half IceWing, half SkyWing, by the ways. Explains a lot, doesn't it? And it's so cool that I inherited the awesome frostbreath! You want to see me use it?"

Gale chuckled. Kunzite definitely could keep them busy. Before she went, though, she was curious to see if her friend really had frostbreath. "Hey Kunzite, could I see you try that frostbreath out?"

Kunzite grinned toothily. "Sure I can! Just come out here!" Gale, Typhoon, and Whirlwind followed her out to a small clearing. Kunzite breathed in with a hissing sound. Then she blew out a puff of something that looked like white, sparkly, powder. It froze the grass in front of her, turning it frosty and stiff.

"Wow," Typhoon stared in wonder. "I've never seen an IceWing breathe a frosty breath like that before. Not that I would see your kind. After all, the war was over a long time ago."

"Wanna see me at full power?" Kunzite grinned.

"Um, I think it's fine, for now," Gale said hastily. ""Zephyr will be waiting for me."

"You're battle training with _the Flawless leader_?" Beryl suddenly came up from behind, his eyes widening in mock astonishment. "That's so awesome."

"Well, you've known this already," Kunzite shot at Beryl. "Want to feel my wrath?"

"Oh, no, Kunzite," Beryl shook his head. "Anyways, good luck with your training, Gale!" He winked at her, then dove out of the way as Kunzite chased him, obviously irritated.

"They seem to not get along," Gale remarked. "Oh, that's Beryl. He's very silly."

Whirlwind looked amused. "Well, better go off to your training, Gale." Gale nodded, then went over to Zephyr, who was watching them the whole time.

* * *

Topaz, queen of the SkyWings, paced around the room, her black talons clicking on the polished floor. Her brother and adviser, Harrier, sat back idly, watching her. The queen looked out of her window. It overlooked the bloodstained arena below. She snorted. Originally, the previous queen, Amber, had a infirmary.

Since Topaz became queen, she had transformed it into a arena, welcome to those who were bloodthirsty. She had captured a few lone SandWings that flew near her borders, just for the arena. There were also some scavengers too, but that was about it. Mainly, SkyWings just clashed with each other, not really in a killing mode. After all, they were each other's tribemate. Nowadays, the arena was used for battle training, not slaughter. She needed war. Battles that would allow her to capture prisoners and put them in the arena. Now that she thought about it, she could've put the flawed dragons against each other to the death. Even so, she'd rather not do so. It was a bit boring, just SkyWings competing against each other. Why not some SeaWings? Or maybe even IceWings?

A smile crept across Topaz's features. Yes, she would start a war. She wanted control over all of Pyrrhia, and she had just the dragon to do that.

"Doombringer, I have a plan."

A jet-black NightWing stepped out of the shadows, the silver moonlight glittering on his dark purple wings. "And what plan is that, my queen?"

Topaz continued staring out the window. "You will need to convince the others to join us, my animus."

Doombringer dipped his head. "Understood, my queen."


	5. Allies

Days turned to weeks as Gale trained. She trained long and hard, her mentor urging her on. Eventually, her grief for her parents wore away, replaced with hatred for Topaz.

Gale improved greatly in speed and nimbleness. Zephyr taught her everything to needed to know. She learned to hunt through the woodlands, fight effectively, and run faster than she ever did before.

Meanwhile, Beryl took an interest in Gale. She always thought he was very silly, and pretty immature for his age. Beryl seemed to be lazy, too.

Gale had just finished today's training with Zephyr. She had grown to like him, as he was very wise and kind. Exhausted from the day's work, she settled into her moss nest, next to Typhoon.

"Where has Whirlwind gone?" Gale asked her sister.

Typhoon shrugged. "I dunno. He's most likely hunting with a random partner. You want me to get something for you from the prey circle? There's always plenty of prey there. You must be hungry from all that training."

"Thanks, but I would like to go there myself." Gale stood up, still a bit weary. As they walked, they greeted other dragons they were now familiar with. Then, they reached the prey circle. The prey circle was encircled with boulders and rocks. Dragons dropped their prey, still alive, inside the circle. The prey were trapped in there.

Typhoon flew Gale over the rock wall, landing her inside the circle. Immediately, the prey scattered, panicking.

Typhoon sighed. "No luck this time. There are only animals. I'd wish I'd taken a look earlier this afternoon. There probably were a few scavengers about. They're pretty rare, you know. Hard to find, if you ask me." She snapped up a nearby deer.

"I was about to get that one!" Gale protested, but her eyes glimmered with amusement. Typhoon playfully shoved Gale, and said, "Oh, go get your own!"

Gale leaped onto a small boar that ran past her and killed it swiftly with a blow from her talons. "There! I got one now!" She started tearing into her freshly killed prey. Typhoon waited for a while, then sneakily snatched half of the remains of the dead boar away.

"Hey!" Gale tugged at her boar. "That was mine!" Typhoon grinned like a troublesome dragonet, and gobbled up the rest of the boar.

Gale growled. "I'll get you for stealing my prey!" She pounced onto her sister, bowling her over. After a few moments of wrestling, Gale lay on the ground, gasping. "Okay, okay. I think that's enough. I'm already tired from today's training."

"Oi! You dragonets!" a cranky red SkyWing shouted from the other side of the circle. "Stop scaring away all the prey! I'm trying to hunt!"

"Okay," Typhoon stepped of Gale. "Maybe we are being too disruptive." Gale spotted a plump deer. She ran towards it, cutting its escape route off and killing it.

"Nice job!" Typhoon exclaimed. She carried the prey over the rock wall first, then Gale. The wingless dragon finished her prey in a few mouthfuls.

Gale stood up. "Okay, let's go. I'm full." Typhoon nodded.

* * *

"My name is Doombringer," a NightWing introduced himself, dipping his head to the MudWing queen, Cypress. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What is a NightWing doing in MudWing territory?" Queen Cypress growled. "You have no business here, NightWing. If you do not leave, my guards will crush you." Her four guards raised their spears menacingly.

"What am I doing here?" Doombringer pretended to look surprised. "Queen Topaz of the SkyWings would like you to ally with her in the upcoming war."

" _Upcoming_?" the queen's head shot up. "What in Pyrrhia are you talking about?"

"Well, that is," Doombringer said slyly, "the SkyWing queen is starting the war." Cypress's four guards hissed.

"There is no upcoming war," Cypress's voice had a sour tone to it. "Pyrrhia has not gone to war for centuries."

"Oh, but there is," Doombringer narrowed his eyes. "You don't trust a NightWing to tell you the truth?"

"The NightWings lost their powers many generations ago," Cypress retorted. "They have lost their so-called superiority over the other tribes."

"Very well," Doombringer spread his wings. "If you don't believe me, I will show you." Suddenly, the spears the guards were holding were wrenched away by an invisible force. They yelped, trying to grab their weapons, but to no avail. The spears turned around and hovered just above the guards, aiming at their heads.

The queen made a move towards Doombringer, but the rocks in the surrounding area blocked her path. A few hovered above the queen, ready to crush her at anytime.

Queen Cypress snarled. "Just who are you?" However furious she sounded, Doombringer saw a flash of uncertainty and fear in her eyes.

"The NightWings are once powerful again," Doombringer let a smile touch his snout. "There are many more like me. Now, if you join, you will get power and all the riches you can imagine. If you don't…" He made the rocks and spears drop a bit lower. Cypress flinched.

"If you think about it," the NightWing went on, "in the great war, the SkyWings had allied with the MudWings. It'll be easier to form alliances once again, don't you think?"

"How do I know you are working for the SkyWings?" Cypress questioned. "The tribe of NightWings live in the rainforest now, if I remember correctly."

"I do not live among stupid, lazy, RainWings," Doombringer spat. "I will not live as lowly as the NightWings there...who have _allied_ themselves with _RainWings_."

Cypress thought for a moment, then sighed deeply. "I will...ally with the SkyWings." Her guards looked shocked as she continued. "This is for our own good, guards. I must protect my subjects, including you."

"Good! You must meet up with Queen Topaz at once!" Doombringer clapped his wings once. As if by command, the rocks returned to the ground, and the spears returned into the guards' talons, much to their bewilderment.

"Now?" Cypress asked warily.

"Yes," Doombringer smiled in a dangerous way. "You may bring your guards if you must." Cypress sighed again, beckoning to her guards, The MudWings followed the NightWing as he took off.

Doombringer suppressed a giggle. _Oh well, I_ did _lie about all the NightWings being animuses. Too bad for them, they will never know that I am an animus. After all, MudWings are too stupid to have an animus like the other tribes. Besides the RainWings, that is._

* * *

 **So, what do you think about this chapter? Doombringer's a bit sinister, in my opinion.**


	6. Discovery

"Well done, Doombringer," Queen Topaz of the SkyWings purred. "Now we have the MudWings in the war that will soon start. Who should we attack? SeaWings? SandWings? Hmm, or maybe perhaps…NightWings." Doombringer puffed out his chest a little, obviously pleased with himself. It didn't seem to bother him that NightWings like him would be put into the arena in the future.

"They would be in the rainforest, with the RainWings, Your Majesty," Harrier said carefully. "Should we capture some of them along the way?"

"Perhaps," Doombringer tipped his head in thought. "I know that RainWings have melting venom, but yet, they are still lazier than the rest of Pyrrhia."

"It's worth a try," Topaz shrugged. "But maybe we should try SandWings first? If you think about it, the SandWings send small patrols in the skirmishes of their lands. In the rainforest, my scouts have not sighted any RainWing or NightWing patrols. If we start rampaging into their territory, the two tribes would be more of a match against us, versus only only tribe in the desert."

"Intelligent thinking," Harrier observed. "You would not expect this from my queenly sister."

"Shut up, Harrier," Topaz snapped at her advisor. "If you think I can't use my head, you're wrong. I'm strong and smart, not strong and stupid, like Burn in the War of SandWing Succession."

"What would Queen Ecru think?" Doombringer asked. "I heard that the SandWing queen is pretty nice. She's popular in her tribe, and she loves her subjects."

"That's better," Topaz smirked. "Yes. We will target the SandWings first, then."

"I agree," Harrier nodded.

"Wait," Doombringer raised his head, ears pricked. He rushed to the window, peeking out. "I heard something. I sensed...an intruding presence."

"What intruding presence?" Topaz demanded.

"An animus always knows," Doombringer said darkly, his tail swishing back and forth agitatedly.

"Pff," Harrier scoffed. "It's not that 'an animus always knows.' You just use your animus powers to enchant a butterfly to alert you of anything that it sees." Doombringer ignored the advisor, staring out intently.

As if on cue, a pale yellow butterfly flitted around the window, eventually landing silently in front of Doombringer. Doombringer muttered words under his breath, touching the butterfly gently with a black talon. The butterfly stilled for a moment, then fluttered off.

"Quick," Doombringer beckoned with a purple wing. "Follow me." He walked briskly from the throne room, not pausing to glance back to see if the SkyWings were following him.

Topaz growled. "Fine." Harrier shrugged, continuing after the SkyWing queen.

Doombringer flew out of the royal palace, tracking the little butterfly from a distance. He slowed down to let Harrier take the lead. "You have better sight than me. Track the moth as silently as you can."

"Why not me?" Topaz growled at the NightWing.

"You are bigger, and louder," the NightWing reasoned. "Harrier is thin and small."

"You will listen to my orders from now on, NightWing," Topaz hissed. "Animus or not, I will tear you apart, limb to limb, if you disobey me." Doombringer gave no response. He continued flying, his gaze fixed ahead.

"Whoa, sister, that's a bit violent," Harrier whistled. "Tone it down, will you?"

Topaz only shot a scornful glare at him. "Why do I let you live, let alone let you be an advisor? I can kill you as easily as your now-dead four other brothers."

"Because I am the smartest brother, and you need me," Harrier said smugly. The butterfly suddenly changed direction, descending down to the rocky cliffs.

"A dragon," Harrier observed. "A...SkyWing dragonet?" He wrinkled his snout in confusion. Doombringer got ready to dive, but Topaz flicked his tail with hers, eyes narrowing. The black dragon dipped his head, drawing back. Topaz tucked in her wings and dived. At the last moment, she snapped open her majestic golden orange wings. The queen hit the dragon, but enough so he would not be injured seriously.

The tiny dragon yelped as he was pinned down. "W-what?" The dragon's voice sounded somewhat deeper than a dragonet's should've been. His wings fit proportionally to his body, unlike a dragonet's, which should have been undersized. This dragon was not a hatchling, despite his size. Topaz spotted a bulging satchel slung over his shoulder. She ripped it away from him, tearing it open. Scrolls spilled from the opening, tumbling down to the ground in a cascade.

"Scrolls?" Doombringer picked one up, peering at it curiously.

"You!" Topaz said brusquely, grabbing the undersized dragon by his throat. "What's your name?"

"Sp-sp-sparrow," the dragon managed to choke out, shivering in fear. He scrabbled feebly at her huge talons.

Topaz released Sparrow's throat. He collapsed onto the ground, wheezing. Topaz turned to Doombringer and Harrier. " _Sparrow_?"

Recognition sparked in Harrier's eyes. "That undersized dragonet that was three years old, but yet no bigger than a newly hatched one."

"How did you live so long?" Topaz wrinkled her snout. "How long has it been…"

"By the moons," Harrier whispered. "If Sparrow survived...are the others living right now, somewhere else?"

"Sparrow could not have survived by himself," Topaz slammed her five talons onto the ground right next to the tiny dragon, who flinched. "Which means...he had help."

"Is it a possibility that they have a group out there?" Harrier wondered.

"I should have killed them all, long time ago," Topaz growled. " _Every single one_." Sparrow tried to slip out of Topaz's grip, but the queen noticed and she pressed her talons into his back. He whimpered as blood trickled down his back.

"So tell me," Topaz hissed into his ear, "where are the rest of the wretched, flawed, creatures?" Sparrow only shook his head, refusing to open his mouth and speak.

"Tell me!" Topaz roared.

"Maybe he's too scared to speak, Your Majesty," Harrier suggested. Topaz breathed in deeply, closing her eyes for a moment.

She opened them, and questioned, "Where are the other dragons?" in a calmer voice. "I will make your death quick and painless if you tell me. I may even leave you alive." Sparrow swallowed visibly, daring not to look into Topaz's eyes. He still did not reply.

"Listen to your queen," Harrier said, stepping forwards. "She may let you live if you tell her the truth."

"You are not my queen!" Sparrow accidentally blurted into Topaz's face.

The queen's snout twisted angrily. "I think you are right, traitor." With a violent wrench, she broke both of Sparrow's wings with a loud _snap._ Sparrow screamed in pain, thrashing this way and that.

"TELL ME!" Topaz roared, grabbing Sparrow's neck and shaking him.

"Er, Your Majesty," Harrier tried. "I don't think-" An agonized shriek from Sparrow cut him off as Topaz sliced open his belly. She dropped the tiny dragon. Sparrow remained motionless where he lay, blood pooling out from beneath him.

"Maybe we could've interrogated him more," Harrier frowned.

"I lost my patience," Topaz swatted at Harrier, who ducked to evade her talons. "If he admitted to where the flawed dragons were, I would have given him a quick and painless death."

"I'm going back," Doombringer told the two SkyWings. "I need to see if anyone would pick him up yet."

Topaz's wings twitched. "Do what you want with the worthless creature." Doombringer nodded, then launched off. It was evening now, with the sun just touching the horizon. He settled himself behind a pile of rocks, peeking out to see if anyone would come fetch Sparrow, who was still twitching feebly.

A few moments later, a SkyWing with a limping front right leg crept out, hurrying over to Sparrow. She lifted him over her back, his broken wings draped over her back in an awkward angle. Doombringer doubted that Sparrow was alive. The unknown dragon with the limp lifted off, flapping away. Doombringer followed her as silently as he could, gliding just above tree level. She didn't bother to look back, and finally, after what seemed like forever, she dropped down to the trees. In the distance, Doombringer spotted movement in the trees. It seemed like it popped down from the trees. He frowned. _What could that be?_

The NightWing shrugged, and flew off, back towards the SkyWing palace.

When he landed, he immediately went through the entrance. The guards had recognized Doombringer, so they made no move towards him. He encountered Queen Topaz inside. Harrier was not with her.

"Tell me what you saw," Topaz ordered.

"Well," the NightWing began, "a female SkyWing with a limp came this way."

Topaz's head shot up. "Where? Where did she have the limp?"

The NightWing scratched his scales. "She had a limp in her front right leg, my queen. Is there anything unusual about that?"

"Yes."

"What is that?"

"It's Flare. She's one of the flaws that I…supposedly executed."

"Executed?" Doombringer echoed.

"She couldn't have survived with the wounds I gave her," Topaz spat. "Which means…she got help from the outside."

"It's a possibility that there are others," Doombringer said. "I followed her until she dropped down to the trees. That's where I guess she lives now, and maybe others."

"There _has_ to be others," Topaz hissed. "Good work today, Doombringer. Here's my plan. I will lead an attack on some of the SandWing patrols. After that, I will personally root out the flawed scum out of their hiding place. I exiled them from my territory. They disobeyed me by staying in it."

"What about me?" Doombringer inquired. "I helped find the location of the flawed dragons, didn't I?"

Topaz bared her teeth at the NightWing. "Yes. You stay here, now."

Doombringer blinked, then finally dipped his head. "I will wait for you here, Queen Topaz."

"Harrier!" Topaz snapped. "Get down here right now!"

The queen's brother flapped down from his hiding place. "Ah, yes, sister?"

" _Queen_ Topaz," the bigger SkyWing corrected. "Why were you hiding, anyways?"

Harrier shrugged. "Not really for any reason."

Topaz flexed her talons. "Maybe I should personally rip you apart like I did to your other brothers. Anyways, Harrier, watch over the SkyWing Kingdom ."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Harrier bowed quickly to the queen before he rushed off.

"Meanwhile, I will prepare the raid at the Kingdom of Sand," Topaz growled.


	7. Raid in the Desert

**Okay, so some of you may have been begging for me to update! _Really_ update. Since you may not know when I will update, I will tell you. I will update every one week (this is rarely) or two weeks (more common). If I don't update within two weeks, assume that a) the next chapter is horribly long, b) I'm too busy with life, or c) I have a writer's block.**

 **I love the positive reviews that some of you put into my story!** **Thank you for those who support The Wingless! Keep reading, and enjoy!**

* * *

Torrid spiralled lazily in the sky, along with the three other SandWings, Dust, Coyote, and Bobcat. She flew along the border between the SandWings and the SkyWings.

"It's a warm, sunny, day, isn't it?" she asked Dust.

The big SandWing nodded. "I can enjoy the sun all I want."

"I don't really get why the other tribes complain of it being too hot," Coyote, who was very small, piped in. "It's perfectly nice and sunny." She stretched her pale golden wings out a bit more to prove her point.

"It's so cold in Jade Mountain," Bobcat, the youngest, complained. "Last year, when I was there, I was shivering the whole time! I didn't know that caves could be so cold." He shivered at the thought, remembering.

"The other dragons seemed to be fine," Torrid said. "I was there three years ago. I heard that the SkyWing queen has withdrawn all her subjects from Jade Mountain. Is that true?"

"Yes," Dust grunted. "I don't know what she has in mind. She's definitely not like the previous queen, if you ask me."

"Definitely!" Coyote agreed.

"Wait!" Torrid suddenly halted. "Do you see that?" The other SandWings squinted. They saw red, gold, and brown shapes in the distance. The brown shapes seemed to be lagging behind.

"Must be other SkyWings," Bobcat observed. "Should we intercept them and ask what they're doing here?"

"Yes," Torrid answered, "but look. There's too many dragons to be a proper border patrol." Then she realized something. _Yes, that's right. Why are there more dragons then there should be? Is it...a battle patrol?_

"Oh no," Torrid felt dismay rising within her like an approaching sandstorm. "No. No. This can't be. The war was over long time ago. This can't happen."

"What?" Coyote wrinkled her snout in confusion. "What about the war? It was over, right?"

"Yes," Dust growled. "They mean to attack us. I know an attack formation when I see one." Bobcat visibly gulped.

"Bobcat," Torrid ordered. "Fly as fast as you can. Get help."

"I can't…" Bobcat looked torn. "You'll…"

"Listen," Torrid hissed. "If we all go, then they will catch up anyways, with their huge wings. If you go, we can stall you time. They won't see you leave."

"But…" Bobcat tried again.

"Go!" Torrid nearly roared. "If you don't, we'll be all dead!" Bobcat, terrified, shot away, beating his wings frantically.

"At least he's safe," Coyote sighed. "Now, let's intercept those SkyWings." Coyote came to Torrid's side, why Dust hovered on the other. They both had their tail barbs raised. Torrid raised hers, too. _It's too late now to turn back_ , Torrid thought.

When the SkyWings were no more but a few wing-lengths away from the SandWings, Bobcat's silhouette was barely visible in the distance. The SkyWing halted in front of the SandWings, within fire range. Torrid noticed that there were a couple MudWings behind. They now moved in front of the SkyWings, acting as a shield.

 _Well, that's a bit selfish_ , Torrid thought. But, she also noticed something greater. A big golden orange SkyWing was in the front lines with the MudWings. She was decorated with shiny bracelets and necklaces, and a circle of purple rubies adorned her. There was something else too… half of her face was burned, leaving missing scales. Those that were still on were black and brown.

Coyote noticed, too. "Queen Topaz."

"Yes, it is I," the queen of the SkyWings said smoothly.

"What business do you have here?" Dust questioned.

"You will find out," Topaz smirked. She suddenly flew at Dust, blasting fire into his face. Dust howled as he fell from the sky in flames.

"Dust!" Coyote cried. "He didn't do anything to you!"

"That's what I like about it," Topaz sneered, smoke curling around her horns. "I love to kill."

Torrid's eyes widened. "You don't mean to start a war now, do you?"

"Oh, I will, for the fun of it!" Topaz grinned in an evil way. "All the blood, screams of grief and agony, the satisfaction that courses through you when you score your claws through flesh!"

Coyote looked sick. Torrid aimed her tail barb at the queen. "You aren't like Burn in the great war, are you?"

"I've heard from the stories she loved fighting," Coyote shivered. "And, she kept this weirdling collection."

"Enough chit-chat," Topaz snapped. She flicked her tail. The MudWings and SkyWings surrounded them.

"Don't kill them!" Topaz yelled. "Knock them out if you can."

"Don't kill us...?" Torrid echoed, confused. "What do you mean by that?" Topaz gave no answer. Instead, their enemies tried to swat at them, aiming for their heads. Torrid ducked under them, jabbing out at a SkyWing with her tail. The SkyWing reeled back, doubling over in pain.

Torrid lashed out at a MudWing that had laid a scratch on her. Coyote wasn't faring so well. She was twisting around and around, whipping her tail barb dangerously and blasting fire. A MudWing from behind had raised his arm.

"Coyote, watch out!" Torrid shouted. Coyote had turned around, but it was too late. The MudWing whacked her on the head. Coyote fell, now that she was unconscious. A SkyWing caught her.

Torrid felt a sudden surge of fear. All the dragons now turned their eyes on her. She tried to push her way out, but she found herself trapped. She tried to use her deadly tail, but someone had already grabbed it and held it in place. She inhaled, ready to breathe fire, when Dust suddenly exploded up out of nowhere.

"Get off her!" Dust roared. Torrid saw what damage had been done to his face, though. It was amazing how he was still alive.

Topaz had dropped from the sky, landing squarely on his back. Before he could react, she reached out and swiftly ripped out his tail barb. Dust roared again, but this time in pain. He tried to fling her off, desperately clawing at her, but she grabbed his thick neck and snapped it brutally.

"Dust!" Torrid yowled. Just then, something hit the back of her head. Her vision instantly went black as she plummeted to the ground.

* * *

Whirlwind hurtled towards Gale, teeth bared. Gale just managed to dive out of the way before her brother crashed into the ground.

Gale leaped nimbly on Whirlwind, fastening her claws on his throat. "Gotcha!" She rolled off Whirlwind, who groaned.

"You've killed me," he gasped with mock pain, then flopped around like a fish in an over exaggerated fashion.

Gale giggled. Typhoon rolled her eyes. "I didn't know you'd have a sense of humor, with all your quietness. I'm starting to think you are Beryl." Whirlwind only grinned in response.

Typhoon pointed at him. " _That's_ Beryl's grin!" Gale giggled more.

"Good job, Gale," Zephyr nodded approvingly. "You're improving every day."

"Thanks," Gale smiled at the one-winged dragon.

"Hey, want a lunch break?" Beryl came over and dumped three large boars on top of Whirlwind.

"Hey!" Whirlwind protested through the boars piled on top of him. "Get these things off me!"

Kunzite came over, and then rolled his eyes. Again. "Stop trying to be funny, Beryl. You're not."

"Why do you roll your eyes at him so much?" Typhoon asked curiously. Kunzite opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"All right," Zephyr interrupted. "I will be busy for the rest of the day. I have some business to attend to." He walked away, accompanied by two other Flawed SkyWings.

"Let's dig in!" Beryl suddenly shouted. Whirlwind, with a snort of annoyance, shook off the prey. Then the dragons started to eat.

"So," Typhoon mumbled through a mouthful of her meat, "Where were you today, Beryl?"

Beryl shrugged. "Nowhere." Gale kept on looking at Beryl and then her share. She thought that Beryl was closer to her every time she looked back. Was he?

The sixth time she looked back at Beryl, he was right next to Gale, less than half a wing-length away.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Kunzite yelled. "BERYL!"

At the sound of his name, Beryl jumped. "What?"

"GALE, did you just NOTICE what he did?" Kunzite literally shouted.

"Umm, scooching closer to me?" Gale guessed. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Yes," Kunzite sniffed. Then she leaned in really close to Gale's ear and whispered, "I think he likes you."

Gale had no words for that comment. She just stared at the gold-white dragon, Beryl looking back at her innocently.

"Um, are you sure?" Gale whispered back doubtfully.

"Think about it," Kunzite nudged her playfully. "Why does Beryl take a particular interest in you? He keeps getting closer and closer. He's even sillier than usual."

Gale blinked slowly. "No one really had any interest in me before."

"Well, someone has a crush on you now," Kunzite told Gale. The wingless dragonet looked back at Beryl. He still had that silly grin pasted on his face. Typical Beryl.

* * *

"Zephyr, Sparrow has woken," a dark red SkyWing told Zephyr. He was one of the few normal SkyWings that had decided to turn rogue since Topaz's reign.

"Good, Sulfur," Zephyr nodded. He trusted his second-in-command with his life. Sulfur led him to Sparrow, who was tended to by two healers.

"Sparrow barely managed to survive," said one of the healers, who had wings too weak to fly. "His belly wound is very severe. We managed to set his wings back with splints, but I'm not sure he'll fly again."

"I wonder what dragon caused the wound?" the other healer, whose scales were dark yellow instead of gold, pondered.

Zephyr slid in front of the undersized dragon. "What happened, Sparrow?"

Sparrow's voice was barely audible, and shaky. "I took some of the scrolls from the palace for the Flawed dragonets. Even as one of your best spies..." Sparrow swallowed, eyes shut. "I… I'm sorry, Zephyr. I failed you."

"You haven't," Zephyr assured him. "Keep going."

Sparrow opened his eyes again, slowly. "Well... I was on my way back with the scrolls when... when the queen attacked me. I don't know how she tracked me down; many times before, I was able to slip away. This time, however, she had a NightWing and another SkyWing with her."

"A NightWing?" one of the healers mused. "What would be a NightWing doing with the queen?"

Sparrow shrugged, but weakly. "The queen, after attacking me, tried to interrogate me. I denied her of any information. After slicing me up a bit, she left me to bleed to death."

"How heartless can the soulless monster be?" Sulfur growled, digging his claws into the earth.

"Flare rescued me after that," Sparrow continued. "She was flying back with me... when I thought I saw the NightWing following. Flare didn't notice. Or maybe I was just too tired. Zephyr, do you think it was an illusion?"

Zephyr scratched his scales. "Sparrow, I believe you. If the NightWing was following you two dragons... he was trying to find out where the hideout of the Flawed was." There was a quiet gasp from one of the healers.

"He didn't follow us when we went down below the treeline," Sparrow informed Zephyr, then coughed.

"Don't talk any more," the yellow-scaled healer ordered. "You'll tire yourself out." Sparrow was too exhausted to protest as the healers started to plaster some kind of green paste on his wounds.

"I think that's enough for today," Zephyr said tiredly, rising up to his talons. "I need to think of a plan."

"We're counting on you, Zephyr," the weak-winged healer said.

"Sulfur, follow me," Zephyr waved his tail. "We're having a meeting with the others."


	8. Fleeing

Torrid opened her eyes groggily. The first thing she noticed was that she was attached to wires that were attached to other prisoners in their little stone islands.

"Dust? Coyote?" Torrid called wearily. _I'm sure Bobcat's okay. He must have warned Queen Ecru by now. She'll be coming to rescue us. Us? I don't see Coyote. Is Dust still alive?_

All these thoughts rampaged around in her head, nearly driving her crazy. She wanted some answers, but she didn't think she would get any.

With a jolt, she realized a speckled brown SandWing that was laying down was next to her stone island.

"Hey," she greeted.

The SandWing's head turned towards her slowly. "What?"

"What's your name?" Torrid asked. "I'm Torrid."

He blinked. "Barren."

"Have you seen any other SandWing named Coyote or Dust?" Torrid inquired.

Barren blinked, but this time more slowly. "No."

 _This is probably the slowest dragon I've ever met. Why didn't I see him before in the SandWing palace?_ Torrid rubbed her head, trying to clear the grogginess. When she looked back at Barren, he was laying his head down again, his lazy black eyes blank. What _was_ that strange SandWing thinking?

Torrid scowled at him. Barren was no help. She instead stood up, surveying the area, searching for imprisoned SandWings like her. Torrid saw a small pale yellow SandWing in the distance. _Coyote!_

She opened her mouth to call out to Coyote, but a beating of huge wings stopped her. Three SkyWings flew above the prisoners.

Torrid caught some of the words. "...you coming?"

"Yeah," the second SkyWing answered. "I'm in the attack squadron against the flawed dragons." _What flawed dragons?_

They flew right above Torrid with a blast of strong wind, not noticing her stare. "Awww, I wish I'm with you," the third SkyWing piped in.

"Don't worry, I'll share the news after I…" their voices faded away as the SkyWings' shapes shrank. Torrid curled up, silently wishing to be back in her desert home. It felt a bit cold here. The mountains was too high for her.

* * *

"Ready, set, go!"

At the sound of Typhoon's voice, Gale exploded in front of Typhoon and Whirlwind, accelerating ahead of them.

She heard a faint "Wow, you're really fast, Gale!" from Typhoon. Gale hurtled across the forest, speeding like a hare. Her talons were a blur as she weaved through the trees. Typhoon and Whirlwind panted behind her, shrinking in the distance every moment. Soon enough, it was just herself, bounding through the silent forest.

When she finally felt the first faint tugs of exhaustion, she slowed down, and stopped, glancing back. Her siblings were nowhere in sight. She sat down and waited patiently.

And waited.

And waited.

Did she really outpace them that fast? Gale went back the way she came, pricking her ears for any sounds. She heard rustling in the distance, and voices. Gale headed for the voices, and stopped when she saw Typhoon's huge wings tangled up in low branches. She was cursing as she twisted and turned, getting herself even more tangled.

"Moon-cursed branches!" Typhoon roared.

"Please, calm down, sister," Whirlwind told Typhoon, but his quiet voice was drowned out by Typhoon's boisterous shouting. "I told you to slow down, but you blundered into these branches anyways. Didn't I tell you to tuck your wings against your sides?"

"CALM DOWN?" Typhoon thundered. "I'm gonna SET FIRE to these OBNOXIOUS SCALE-RIPPING branches anytime soon!"

Gale hurried forwards. "Please, Typhoon, don't do that. The fire will spread! Here, let me help. Stay still." Typhoon scowled as nastily as she could, but stayed put as Gale freed the branches from her wings one by one.

"There," Gale stepped back. "You're free."

Typhoon lowered her wings, inspecting them. "Thanks."

"I can't believe you are so fast, Gale!" Whirlwind complimented. "You having no wings gives you an advantage."

"Thank you," Gale smiled. "I think we could-"

"Quiet!" Typhoon hissed. Gale looked perplexed as Typhoon stretched her neck upwards and pricked her ears.

Whirlwind was poised as if to run. "What?"

"Don't you hear that?" Typhoon jerked her head to the right. THe three SkyWIngs listened closely. There was a faint beating of wings. Many wings. Too many to be a regular border patrol of dragons.

"They're not any of the Flawed," Gale observed. "Most of them were under strict orders not to surface unless they were scouts or on a team to exercise their wings."

"Let me look, then you don't have to risk giving away sounds by flying up." Gale squirmed past her siblings and clawed her way up a tree. Their mouths were slightly agape as they stared at her.

Gale paused. "What? Zephyr wanted to get as much advantages as he could out of a dragon without wings." She resumed her climbing. She wasn't an expert, however, and the climbing process was slow. Finally, she cautiously poked the top of her head to peer at the sky. In the distance, she saw SkyWings; in fact, enough to form a battalion.

 _What's going on?_ Gale blinked. Were they coming to attack another tribe? Wait, she saw MudWings! What were MudWings doing with SkyWings?

"What's going on up there?" Whirlwind asked quietly.

"MudWings and SkyWings, a battalion of them!" Gale reported.

" _MudWings_?" Typhoon stared at Gale. "What are they doing with SkyWings? The war was supposed to be over!"

"Maybe another one is starting," Whirlwind said darkly. The sound of wingbeats drew closer. Gale saw the dragons tilt their wings and dip down to the ground.

"Come on!" a familiar faint voice shouted. "They're here!"

Gale's blood turned to ice.

It was Queen Topaz.

She slowly turned to Whirlwind and Typhoon, shock coursing through her. "Queen Topaz is here."

"Mm," Whirlwind mused. "My prediction is that the queen of the SkyWings is here to kill us all. Somehow, she found us."

"We got to warn them!" Gale slid down the tree, taking off.

"Wait!" Typhoon cried. "We're coming!"

"I think I can hear them," a low MudWing voice said.

"Then get them!" Topaz's voice shrieked.

"Uh-oh," Whirlwind gulped. "We need to go. Go ahead, Gale. You're the fastest. We'll be okay."

When Gale looked skeptical, Typhoon told her, "We _will_ be fine."

"Okay," Gale briefly touched her siblings' snouts with hers, then turned and ran. _Please be okay!_ A little anger boiled up inside her as she thought of Topaz. She ground her teeth. _Why? Why did you have to find us, aiming to destroy us all?_ She burst into the Flawed camp, roaring, "Queen Topaz has come! We must run!"

"You mean, _Topaz_ ," a Flawed sneered. "Haven't you forgot, she's not your queen anymore."

Zephyr nudged past that dragon. "Please, don't. Gale was right to warn us." A crowd was gathering.

Zephyr sucked in a breath, then bellowed, "Invasion! Evacuate!" Every Flawed knew this signal, just in case there was an invasion. There was the occasional drill here and there, but this time, it was real.

Gale was amazed as she saw the Flawed move with calm swiftness, packing up only the most necessary belongings. They never asked any questions. They just packed. There were a few scared dragonets, but those were scooped up by their mothers or caretakers.

Gale hurried to her nest. She didn't really have anything, except for a small, brown, leather pouch she slung over her neck. It contained a precious, blue-green, stone that Sunset had given her long time ago. Sunset had said that it resembled her eyes, except for the yellow tinge.

She looked at her siblings' belongings. She took a couple that she knew that they would like to keep with them.

"Gale!"

Gale turned around to see Kunzite. "Kunzite!"

"Let's go!" the gold-white dragon urged. "Beryl, Cyclone, and the others are already going!"

"Well…" Gale clenched her talons. "Have you seen Whirlwind and Typhoon?"

"Nooo…" Kunzite said slowly. "Oh. Do you know where they are?"

"I ran ahead of them when I saw the SkyWing and MudWing battalion," Gale looked very worried. _Maybe I should have stayed with them…_

" _MudWings_?" Kunzite took a step back. "What are they doing here? I thought the war was over before I was even born!"

"Exactly."

"Well, let's find Whirlwind and Typhoon then."

The two dragons ran past the fleeing Flawed. "I hope Sparrow will be okay," Gale murmured. "Poor thing. He didn't deserve that." She ground her teeth at the thought of Queen Topaz. No, just Topaz. She was no longer her queen.

It was just that time when Typhoon and Whirlwind exploded into the camp.

"They're right behind us!" Typhoon yelled. "They're-" MudWings and SkyWings barged in, snarling. Some of the Flawed dragons shrieked in terror.

"Help!"

"They're coming!"

"Run for your lives!"

"No one's dying under my watch," Zephyr roared. "Please, all of you, go. Soldiers, to me!" Ten of the Flawed lined up with Zephyr, bristling with teeth and claws.

 _They're no match against a battalion of dragons,_ Gale thought despairingly.

Once the SkyWings and MudWings were just barely a couple wing-lengths away, Zephyr ordered, "Fire!" Zephyr and his ten soldiers let out streams of flame nearly at the same moment, creating an impenetrable wall of fire. The dragons in the front stumbled back, screaming with pain as they blundered into the dragons behind them. Topaz's battalion became a confused mess for a moment, giving Zephyr and his soldiers time to turn and follow after the main group of the Flawed.

"Run!" Zephyr urged Gale and the others. Kunzite and Gale's siblings took off, while Gale sprinted after Zephyr. By the time the enemy recovered, the Flawed were too far away to pursuit. In the distance, Gale saw Topaz throw her a look of hatred before she vanished into the trees.

She continued running after Zephyr, and did not stop until Zephyr did. Zephyr ordered everyone to rest in a nearby cave.

Gale looked back bleakly in the direction she came from. _Again. I've lost my home. It's gone. Where do we go now?_

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter! Where will the Flawed go now?**


	9. Into the Rainforest

**Well, here's the next chapter! Specifically one of my readers has been strongly urging me on to update, and I appreciate that! Thanks Peril! And yes, I had set the deadline for today a couple days ago.**

* * *

"Where are we?" Gale questioned Kunzite, who was next to her and her siblings.

"Of what I know from Zephyr, we're near the rainforest," Kunzite answered.

"We're going _there_?"

"Yup," Typhoon broke in. "To the RainWings. And the NightWings."

"Hopefully, the RainWings are nice enough to take us in," Kunzite hoped.

"They might," Whirlwind tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, you know, I've heard that in the time of the great war, the RainWings were horribly lazy."

"Yeah," Typhoon agreed. "I think I read somewhere that the RainWings couldn't fight at all. They didn't even have scrolls!"

"Um," Gale tried, "Maybe something more positive about them would do?" _I don't really like the bad talk about RainWings… after all, we_ are _coming to them, right?_

"And the NightWings," Gale said suddenly. "Not sure they'll be welcoming. Two tribes in the forest is already enough, don't you think?"

Kunzite shrugged.

"Why didn't Topaz chase us?" Typhoon pondered.

"Maybe she was looking for stragglers back there?" Gale suggested.

"Let's move on!" Zephyr suddenly announced. The Flawed got up on their talons and followed Zephyr.

The rainforest came in view, and soon enough, all sorts of rainforest animals and plants surrounded them. The hot, muggy air made Gale feel sleepy. Most of the Flawed felt uncomfortable squelching around in a swamp.

Gale shooed away bugs that were swarming around her, but they crawled under her scales and made her feel very itchy. She didn't like the humid weather that made her feel tired. Gale had to constantly avoid branches and leaves in her way. However, due to her being able to move expertly in tight spaces, the other Flawed were taking it harder.

"How do RainWings like this weather?" Typhoon complained loudly. "How can the NightWings stand it? There are literally bugs trying to kill me! My wings get tangled up EVEN MORE in here than the forest in SkyWing territory! I really, really-" Typhoon spluttered as she blundered into a big spiderweb.

"You better watch where you are going, Typhoon," Whirlwind told her.

Then suddenly, colorful, slender, dragons materialized from out of nowhere, surrounding the Flawed. The new dragons were holding blowguns in their claws, and those were aimed directly at the SkyWings.

"Halt!" one of the RainWings ordered. "Who is your leader, and what is your business here?"

"I am the leader, Zephyr," Zephyr stepped up. "We seek shelter and protection in the rainforest."

The RainWing squinted at the Flawed. _We must look very strange_ , Gale thought. _After all, nearly all of us have some kind of flaw._

"But… what are SkyWings doing here?" the leader asked. Several of the RainWings shifted their scales to match the SkyWings' color.

"Ooooo, you look exactly like that red dragon," one RainWing remarked his friend.

"I like the deep red. It's pretty."

"Attention!" the lead RainWing barked. The two RainWings straightened up, looking a bit ashamed.

 _So these RainWings aren't completely disciplined_ , Gale mused.

"We have turned our backs to the Sky Kingdom," Zephyr declared. "We do not like the current queen." _Smart. Zephyr's careful not to admit we are fleeing. Otherwise, that'll make us seem weak._

The lead RainWing sat back, eyeing them suspiciously. "That might be true. Do all SkyWings have something wrong with them? You have only one wing."

Gale flinched. _Of course_. These were the Flawed.

"No," Zephyr replied steadily. "May we stay?"

"Come," the lead RainWing ordered. "You will meet with the queen." Gale blinked. Was it really that easy to have an audience with their queen? They came into a clearing that was filled with little huts made out of branches and broad leaves. There were platforms, too, high up in the canopy. A few RainWings were sleeping, their wings sprawled out. Their bright colors sparkled in the golden sunlight.

There was a big hut in the trees, with two guards standing at the entrance.

"Only three can go," the lead RainWing told them. "By the way, my name's Hoatzin."

A ripple yellow of passed through his scales. Gale wondered what that meant.

"I will go," Zephyr volunteered. HIs eyes scanned the Flawed. "I will also take… Sulfur… and Gale." When Gale stepped forward, the RainWing stared at her. It must be even more of a surprise then seeing a one-winged dragon.

"Wow, since when did Zephyr take an interest with you?" Beryl suddenly was next to Gale. He grinned. "Say hi to the RainWing queen for me!"

Gale stifled her giggle as Zephyr flew off with Sulfur. Gale followed them, glancing back to see Kunzite scowl at Beryl and cuff him lightly.

 _Why does Zephyr want me?_ Gale pondered. _Why not one of his top soldiers?_

"Here," Hoatzin landed, greeting the guards outside the big hut. "Hey Courage, hey Okapi." There was a cool purplish-black NightWing with a lining of silver scales and silver-gold eyes. The other guard was a small, dull, bored-looking RainWing with brown stripes scattered all over his legs.

The RainWing Okapi was chewing slowly on a coconut. "Hi." His brown stripes faded away when he saw Hoatzin and the SkyWings approaching.

Courage's silver-gold eyes were friendly. "Hello, Hoatzin. Why are there SkyWings here?" Gale tilted her head at the NightWing. _I like his remind me of the moon and sun._ He had pretty handsome eyes, she had to admit. Okapi was staring at Zephyr and Gale like as if he'd never seen dragons without wings. _Well, actually, that's most likely true._ However, Courage was not staring at them that way. _Very respectful, too,_ Gale observed quietly.

"They seek refuge, and have abandoned their kingdom," Hoatzin said sourly.

"It's not like that," Gale protested. "We just don't like the current queen."

"Please," Zephyr turned around to look at Gale calmly. "We must be respectful, having no outbursts. After all, we're only guests here." Gale shut her mouth, glancing at Hoatzin.

"You may enter," Courage dipped his head respectfully to the three SkyWings. Okapi just mumbled something that sounded like an "okay," then resuming eating his coconut at his slow pace.

The hut was startlingly bright with flowers that adorned the walls. There was a richly decorated throne filled with green, twirling leaves and vines. A big pink-yellow RainWing with flower necklaces was sitting on the throne with a gray sloth draped over her neck. _I wonder why there's a sloth there. Is it there to be eaten, or is it a royal pet of some sort?_

The RainWing queen blinked open her eyes. "Oh, hello. New visitors?"

"Yes, Queen Glamour," Hoatzin replied, bowing quickly. _So she's Queen Glamour_ , Gale thought. _A bit of a strange name._

"Hmm… SkyWings?" Glamour yawned, removing her sloth and gently placing it onto her throne. She gazed at the Flawed dragons. "Ooooh… I'm never seen a dragon with one wing, or a… wingless dragon?"

Gale clenched her talons, avoiding Glamour's green eyes.

"You'll have to get used to these unusual features, Your Majesty," Zephyr told the RainWing queen. "Most of us are not perfect. May we take shelter in your rainforest? I'm sure Topaz's soldiers will want to find and hunt us down."

"Oh, how dramatic," Glamour remarked with a toothy smile. "Don't you mean _Queen_ Topaz?"

"She is no longer our queen," Zephyr's tail twitched.

"Well, I have plenty of room in our rainforest," Glamour yawned again. "l suppose you could stay here."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Zephyr dipped his head to her. "I am honored to be in your presence."

"No need for formalities," Glamour waved her talon dismissively. "Go on, Hoatzin. Show them the guest area, though this is a lot of dragons to fit in, I've heard. Some of them may have to go to the NightWing guest area."

Hoatzin bowed again. "Yes, Queen Glamour."

When they bustled out of the hut, Gale saw that Courage had shifted a little to her. As they passed, he whispered, "What's your name?"

Gale blinked. Why was he asking for her name? His eyes were trained on her eyes, she noticed. They weren't drawn to her bare back, like most dragons.

"Um…" Gale decided telling her name wouldn't hurt. "Gale."

"Are you coming with us?" Sulfur grunted. Gale realized that she had stopped in her tracks. She hurried up to them.

Hoatzin led them back down to the main group of the Flawed. "Ah.. what's your name again?" The RainWing asked Zephyr.

"Zephyr," the one-winged dragon answered.

"Zephyr, your group will need to be split up. If not, we may not be able to take you."

Zephyr narrowed his eyes, thinking about something. Finally, he decided, "Sulfur, will you be able to take care of half of us?"

The dark red SkyWing saluted. "Anytime. Where would you like me to go? The NightWing camp?"

"Stay here," Zephyr ordered. "I will sort the Flawed out." Then Zephyr started to split the Flawed.

"Heeeey there," a voice whispered next to Gale's ear. Gale jumped and saw Beryl standing with Cyclone.

"You and Beryl are with Sulfur," Cyclone told Gale. He nodded to Beryl, then loped away to Zephyr.

Kunzite hurried over. "Where are you?"

"I'm with Sulfur," Gale answered.

Kunzite's wings drooped a little. "Aw, Gale. I'm with Zephyr." She said a quick goodbye and plodded to Zephyr's gathering group.

"Bye!" Gale called. Kunzite absentmindedly waved a wing as she walked away, but then shouted one more thing. "Beryl, don't you _dare_ try stalking Gale!" Beryl shrugged, putting on his grin.

Whirlwind and Typhoon were with Gale, too. After Zephyr's group had moved away, Gale observed the rest of the Flawed that were with her. She noticed that Sparrow was here, sitting upright with a Flawed healer and a RainWing healer.

"It wouldn't be wise to move Sparrow to a tribe that is less peaceful," Gale stated.

"True," Typhoon agreed. "Where's Beryl?" They looked around, but he somehow disappeared.  
"Maybe he's listening to Kunzite's advice," Whirlwind joked.

"Okay, okay!" Hoatzin yelled. "All SkyWings, I will show you where you will rest!"

"Honestly, I think Hoatzin is too bossy," Typhoon muttered.

"I thought RainWings were supposed to be mellow and easygoing, right?" Whirlwind scratched his scales.

"Well, I read in a RainWIng scroll that they get an hour of suntime every day," Gale explained. "The scroll explained that this was a resting time for RainWings. Maybe Hoatzin's grumpy because he has no suntime."

"No suntime?" a pale RainWIng dragonet gasped, who was suddenly next to them. "Of course Hoatzin gets suntime once in awhile! Everyone does! It's just that Queen Glamour has soldiers cut their suntime in half, and sometimes even make them skip their daily suntime. It's still horrible, though."

"Soldiers?" Gale asked curiously. "I thought I heard that RainWings are a peaceful tribe, so they don't have any fighting dragons."

"Queen Glory made it all happen," the dragonet beamed. ""Generations ago, she changed some of the ways of life of the RainWings to make their life better! Even now, we're still improving. We don't have many soldiers, but at least we have a fighting force! We still don't choose our queens out of royalty. Instead, those who want to be queen will have to pass a queenly test. If more than one pass, the RainWIngs can vote who gets to be queen by majority! "

 _Even though they say they have improved, I'm not sure why Capybara is telling us all of this,_ Gale thought. _Most tribes would carefully guard any secrets of their tribe._

"What's your name?" Typhoon inquired.

"Capybara," the young RainWing answered. "Do the other tribes have soldiers like us, too?"

"I have heard that the IceWings make their dragons soldiers when they're still dragonets," Whirlwind said. "They have a very strict order, rankings or something like that."

"More than five times the amount of soldiers you RainWings have," Typhoon growled.

Capybara's eyes were wide. "Really?"

"Don't scare him," Gale told her siblings.

Typhoon stated, "Just letting him know the real facts in Pyrrhia."

"Here!" Hoatzin announced. "You will sleep in guest huts." He showed Sulfur's group the small huts. Each hut fit three dragons.

"Definitely," Gale pointed to a hut with rainforest branches hanging over it. The branches reminded her of her former home.

"With me and Whirlwind!" Typhoon ran ahead of them, peering into the hut.

"I'll leave you to your hut," Capybara said cheerfully. "I might as well go and bother some other SkyWing." He rushed off, pink colors bubbling across his scales.

"Okaaaaay," Typhoon stuck a talon inside the hut and brought out a mango. "No meat. Yay."

"We can hunt our own prey, if the RainWings allow us to," Gale assured her sister.

"What do they allow us to eat?" Typhoon wondered, picking up a round, yellow fruit. "And what is this?" She poked at the fruit, and juice spilled out. Typhoon poked a deeper hole, then ripped it in half with squelching sound.

Gale looked at the inside of the fruit. It was a light red. "That's very interesting. There weren't many fruits in the mountains."

"That, is a grapefruit," Whirlwind stated in an all-knowing voice. "Apparently, only the rainforests have it. Which means here."

Typhoon scratched her horn thoughtfully. "Well, that's interesting. I didn't know dragons ate fruit. I would still prefer prey over fruit, though."

"You like to eat meat?" Capybara's head stuck into the hut.

"You were eavesdropping!" Typhoon yelled. Capybara stood in silence with wide eyes, and then slowly retreated from their hut.

"You didn't have to scare him like that," Gale told her sister.

"I just want to sleep," Whirlwind mumbled. He turned over and started snoring immediately.

"Oh, three moons," Typhoon smacked her face. "How can you sleep that fast?"

"Only Whirlwind knows," Gale said. She tilted her head up. _What happens now that the RainWings and the NightWings accepted us? What will Topaz do to find us? I'm sure she doesn't know that we're in the rainforest. Yes, for now she doesn't know… but will she find out?_


	10. Attack on the Sky Palace

**And finally, the next chapter is here!**

* * *

After Zephyr's dragons were settled down in the NightWing camp, he surveyed the area. Most of the NightWings looked grumpier than the RainWings.

"Excuse me, Sacred," Zephyr turned to their guide, a small, slender NightWing with what looked like silver teardrops behind her eyes. "May I have an audience with your queen?"

Sacred looked a little nervous. "Well, I think Queen Victorious is a bit busy today. Um, you know, you may not have an audience with you until the day after the one tomorrow. Or the day after that. Unless it's urgent. But even if it's urgent, it'll have to wait until the evening."

"This is urgent," Zephyr insisted.

"What's the urgency about?" Sacred questioned.

"It's for the queen's ears."

"For the queen's ears, huh?" Sacred did not sound convinced. "If you tell me now, I, as the queen's advisor, can decide if it's urgent or not. Then, you may have a chance to have an audience with the queen tonight."

"Wait," a sharp voice interrupted Sacred. A huge dragon around the size of Topaz walked up to Zephyr, her long tail slithering behind her. She was a midnight black with a purplish underbelly and deep violet eyes. Zephyr noticed that instead of jewels, she wore heavy necklaces and armlets studded with stone that glinted in the filtered sunlight. A large silver hoop earring dangled from the queen's left ear.

"Y-Your Majesty," Sacred stammered, bowing. "I-I'm sorry. This SkyWing has been bothering me about seeing-"

"Silence," Victorious hissed. "I would like to hear what this SkyWing has to say. It must be urgent, right?"

"My name is Zephyr, Queen Victorious," Zephyr introduced himself, bowing lightly. "I apologize for halting your business."

"Just get to it," Victorious growled, shooing away Sacred, who was protesting a little.

"As you may have heard from the RainWings, we have left the SkyWings," Zephyr started. "Topaz will be looking for us… most likely still digging around in mountains. What I present to you is to form a temporary alliance in order to defeat Topaz."

There was a small gasp from Sacred. "What in Pyrrhia are you thinking?"

"Sacred, stay out of this for now," Victorious growled, shooing her away again. "Why should I ally with you just for that, SkyWing?"

"You must be able to tell that Topaz is going to start a world war, regardless of your involvement in it," Zephyr sat back and crossed his front talons together respectfully. "As said, we must bring down Topaz at all costs. She will come here eventually to invade the rainforest."

Victorious narrowed her eyes in thought. "How do you want me to help you?"

"Reinforcements, of course," Zephyr replied. "I am planning to gather RainWings as well as NightWings to launch an attack on the SkyWing palace."

"I might as well just agree to that," Victorious leaned back.

Zephyr bowed again. "Very well, Queen Victorious. I asked you this because the future of Pyrrhia is in danger, but it is your choice to decide what you will do."

"Return to your comrades," Victorious commanded. "Sacred, come with me. We have some matters to discuss." Sacred dipped her head and followed the NightWing queen.

Zephyr turned around to watch over his group as they settled down in the guest huts. _Topaz must be stopped._

* * *

"Your Majesty," Doombringer said to Queen Topaz, "it seems that Queen Ecru's troops has come." The first battle cries echoed throughout the mountains.

"I _know_ that," Topaz snapped. She turned to a red-gold battle-scarred SkyWing. "Twister! Quickly organize a battalion!"

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Twister rasped, then raced away.

"I'm going to break the SandWing queen's wings myself if I see her," Topaz snarled.

"What's with you and breaking wings?" Harrier inquired. "Once in awhile, shouldn't you try to break a leg? Or maybe break a face? Oh wait, that doesn't really make much sense compared to-"

"Shut up, Harrier," Topaz lashed her tail. "If you are going to keep blabbering on about breaking legs and faces, I'll snap your wings off." Harrier opened his mouth to say more, but a glare from his sister silenced him.

Topaz stomped out of the palace with Harrier and Doombringer trailing behind. They looked up to see a wave of SandWings descend upon the SkyWings, who were still a little disorganized. Fire met with fire as the two forces collided, creating chaos.

Topaz spotted the imprisoned SandWings in the arena struggling to free themselves.

"Ah! They've come for the SandWings we have captured," Harrier exclaimed.

"Harrier, stop being useless, stand guard by them and don't let them escape," Topaz growled at her brother. "I'm going to join the others. Doombringer, find a way to capture those SandWings without killing them. _Some_ of them."

"I will try," Doombringer drew back from the fighting.

"All right, my queenly sister," Harrier bowed lavishly, then loped to the imprisoned SandWings while Topaz launched off towards the battle, itching to go back and rip away Harrier's wings. _Idiot brother. I might just as well kill you and appoint Doombringer adviser._ With a burst of speed, Topaz slammed into a pale yellow SandWing. Before he could react, Topaz scored her claws swiftly down his side and blasted fire onto his wings. The SandWing howled and plummeted to the ground.

 _You're brave to lead SandWings straight to the palace, Ecru, but you're stupid._

* * *

"They've come for us," Torrid stared up at the SandWings in wonderment. "Bobcat must have warned them." Fresh determination surged through her, and she tried to free herself from the wires.

"Mmm," Barren mumbled He stood up and tried to figure out a way to free himself. A SkyWing landed next to them. He had Coyote in his talons! She was out cold, her head flopped to one side.

"Coyote!" Torrid bared her fangs at the SkyWing. "What did you do to her?"

"Oh, nothing too serious," the SkyWing flew to an empty stone island next to Torrid and clipped the wires onto Coyote. "I just knocked her out gently."

"How can you knock someone out gently?" Torrid nearly shouted. "And where's Dust?"

"Dust?" the SkyWing scratched his head. "That's a SandWIng name, right? Nah, there's no other SandWIng here."

Torrid's blood turned to ice. _Is Dust… is he really dead?_

Once again, Torrid jerked this way and that, the wires straining to hold.

"Wait, we don't want that, do we?" the SkyWing hopped over to Torrid. "Sorry, I have to do this." Expertly, the SkyWing struck Torrid's head. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Bobcat clenched his talons, terrified. He watch as the commander of the battalion, his mother, Venom, shout out orders. He couldn't bring himself to go into battle. His sister Antelope was fighting a big SkyWing on the ground. She shrieked as the SkyWing dug his claws into her back. He had pressed a hind leg on her tail to keep her from stabbing him with her deadly barb.

Bobcat made his choice. He zoomed down towards the SandWing and struck his tail barb right into his neck. The SkyWing lurched back with a bellow, clutching his neck as the venom spread.

"Thanks," Antelope said. "Let's go." She urged him away from the dying SkyWing. Together, they fought, side by side, as they forced their way through countless SkyWings.

Bobcat was glad that he had warned Queen Ecru. She had decided to get the missing dragons back, _and_ decided that Topaz had declared war on them. So, they were fighting to win, not just to get the missing SandWings back.

Bobcat was the first one to notice something odd. He stopped clawing at SkyWings, momentarily confused as he stared up. There were a few stray rocks that seemed to float in the air… rocks? Why would rocks fly? Bobcat ducked as a big SkyWing swiped at him. Antelope had noticed now, too. "Great kingdoms…"

The rocks broke apart, forming spears. Bobcat backed away, sensing that something bad was coming. "Uh, Antelope?"

"I know." Antelope shot a burst of fire into a SkyWing's snout and shoved him back.

Venom landed next to them, ruffling her wings. "What's the problem?"

"Mother, floating rocks," Bobcat pointed up to the sky. "Or spears."

"Are they going to fall on us?" Antelope asked, then got battered by another SkyWing's wings. Bobcat joined her to ward off the SkyWing.

"I might consider a retreat," Venom growled. "I do feel like we may be in greater danger."

" **Too late**." a deep voice boomed in the sky.

"What?" Venom hissed.

"The voice is all around us!" Antelope gasped.

" **Too late for you, SandWings. Your measly army is** ** _nothing_** **compared to my power. Now you will feel my wrath for attacking the SkyWing palace!** " The SkyWings immediately looked relieved, stepping away from the SandWings.

"What do you mean?" Venom roared.

There was no reply. Instead, the rock spears rained down on the SandWings. Panic erupted from the SandWings immediately as the deadly weapons pierced through scales as if they were paper.

Venom stared as her soldiers fell. The rock spears were swift as they impaled the dragons, killing them instantly.

"Come on," Bobcat tugged on his mother's wing. "I think we should retreat."

"Not without my missing soldiers," Venom hissed through her teeth.

"General Venom!" an exhausted soldier yelled. "At this rate, we'll all die!" Venom curled her shaking claws and heaved a defeated sigh.

"SandWings. Retreat."

At once, the remaining SandWings fled, Bobcat trailing behind them. Hopelessness rose within him as he glanced back at the others they had left behind. _What are we going to do now?_

* * *

"Seize the remaining SandWings!" Topaz commanded. The SkyWings surged forwards, scouting around. Most of the SandWings left were dead, but a few were still alive, too injured to flee. They groaned as the SkyWings grabbed them and flew up to the stone islands.

"Doombringer," Topaz growled. "Why did you let the majority go?"

Doombringer dipped his head. "My apologies. I thought that we shouldn't capture them all."

"And why is that?" Topaz questioned.

"We could let them run to their neighbors for help," Doombringer explained. "See, we don't need to waste the energy starting a war with the other tribes. We let the SandWings forge alliances with the other tribes. Those tribes will start fighting us, too. That was what you wanted, wasn't it?"

Topaz glared at the NightWing. "I _knew_ that." She whipped around and yelled, "Harrier! Let the guards take over! Come over here!"

Harrier flapped over to Topaz. "Yes, my queenly sister?"

" _Queen_ Topaz," Harrier's sister snarled. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Mhm, let's see... according to my calculations, roughly around two hundred and seventy-eight?" Harrier guessed.

Topaz grabbed Harrier's throat. "Are you playing games with me?" She hissed. "Because if you are, and if you won't shut your big mouth, Harrier, then I will personally break your wings like I did to Sparrow and rip your arrogant face right off your skull."

Harrier coughed. "Uh... three moons, that's a very harsh way to describe dying and-"

"I suggest you kindly stop talking before your queen kills you," Doombringer interrupted quietly. "If you want to save your life, that is." Topaz let go of Harrier and he flopped down like a fish.

" _Get up_ ," Topaz ordered. Harrier stood up, rubbing his neck.

"I believe you should excuse Harrier," Doombringer said smoothly. "After all, he's been a thorn to your side, right? I'm sure you can talk to him later about your matters."

"Fine," Topaz muttered. " _Harrier_ , you will help my soldiers guard the newly captured SandWings. You will not take a break until tomorrow. That means you will take night shift as well."

Harrier opened his mouth to say something, but remembering what his sister said, he shut his mouth. As Harrier launched off into the sky, he mused to himself, "Perhaps I can escape from this place after all."

* * *

 **Uh oh. What is Harrier thinking of doing now?**


	11. Anger, Terror, and Disappointment

**Hey guys, I'm back! I apologize for updating later than usual. Like I said before, I usually update in two week's time. However, this does not mean I will update every two weeks. There will be times where I have things going on with my life, and I am forced to update later.**

 **Again, sorry for the delay! (Because I was obviously** **procrastinating) I was on vacation where there was no wifi. Other than that, enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

Gale yawned as she stretched, letting the sun's warm rays soak into her scales. She still didn't get how the RainWings could sit baking in the sun for an hour.

Well, maybe _baking_ wasn't the way to put it. The RainWings wouldn't call it that, they would call it "sunbathing." Gale had never sunbathed before, and didn't feel like trying. She emerged from the leaf hut and flicked a mosquito off her ear.

The Flawed had been living here for only a couple weeks, but Gale was already getting used to the tropical rainforest.

"Moon-blasted bugs," Typhoon muttered, coming out after her sister. "How do RainWings stand bugs crawling under your scales?"

"I don't know." Gale shrugged. "Is Whirlwind still sleeping?"

"He's snoring like an earthquake," Typhoon snorted. "Shaking the very ground."

Gale rubbed her head. "You're exaggerating."

"I am not," Typhoon retorted. "Go in there yourself and see."

"All right, I believe you," Gale gave in, laughing. "Hey Capybara, do you have more new fruits for us to try out?"

The little RainWing dragonet popped up next to Gale, holding an oval-shaped yellow-green fruit with spiky leaves at the top. "Try this!"

Gale poked strange the fruit curiously. Typhoon growled, "I'm not trying another fruit. The last one was horrible."

"Come ooooon," Capybara begged. "I promise this one isn't as bad!"

"I'm sure Capybara isn't lying," Gale assured Typhoon. She ripped the fruit in half to see an even more yellow color inside. The wingless dragon bit into it, surprised at how stringy it was, but yet it was sweet at the same time.

"It's not that bad," Gale said to Typhoon. "You can try it."

Typhoon sauntered over, eyeing the fruit suspiciously. She reluctantly took a tiny biteand said, "Bleh. This makes my tongue tingle."

"It's called pineapple!" Capybara informed the SkyWings enthusiastically. "Never tasted something like that, have you?"

"No," Typhoon muttered.

"It's good, right?" Capybara asked hopefully.

"Yes, delicious!" Gale took another bite.

Capybara brightened up. "Yeah!" He scrambled away with another mysterious fruit in his talons.

Gale leaned back, tossing her pineapple lazily from paw to paw. "I like this place. If there was no Topaz… we could live here happy."

"Yeah," Typhoon agreed, with a sad smile. "If there was no Topaz… our parents would still be alive."

Gale suddenly stopped tossing her pineapple, a shadowed look in her eyes. "You know… I wish Topaz is this pineapple." The wingless dragon stabbed her claws straight into the pineapple. Juice ran down her talons as the pineapple was reduced to mush.

"Gale…" Typhoon sounded shocked. "This isn't like you."

Her younger sister didn't reply. She stood up abruptly, leaving the remains of her fruit on the ground.

"Hey, Gale," Typhoon tried again.

"Hey, Typhoon," Gale said, turning towards her with a cold stare. "Don't you want to kill Topaz, too?"

* * *

Harrier didn't sleep soundly that night. The wind cut into his scales like ice as he lay down on the cold stone surface. He peered down from the cliff. _Hm. I suppose sleeping on the highest point of this mountain isn't the best idea? Well, maybe it_ was _a good idea. My queenly sister wouldn't expect me to hide up on a mountain, would she? I suppose she probably thought I'd go running to the SandWings. She's probably correct. But I'm not going there now._

Harrier huffed as he tried to hide behind a boulder to get away from the merciless wind. A few hours ago he had slipped out of the palace, making his mind about leaving. He had a gut feeling that his sister would kill him in a couple days anyway. _To save my own scales,_ Harrier inwardly sighed. _Oh, yes._

The lone SkyWing closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but the howling of the wind kept him awake. _Very scary sounding too. Or eerie. Eerie sounds better. It puts more of a creepy feeling to it. I'm tired. Maybe I shouldn't have run away._

Out of nowhere, a tiny white butterfly struggled to fly through the wind. Harrier watched it curiously. _Oh hello, a butterfly. What are you doing here?_

That was when he heard the faint sound of wingbeats. _Uh oh. Doombringer's butterfly! Gotta go._ Harrier stood, swaying unsteadily. _Uh… too sleepy._ He shook his head, taking off clumsily.

In the distance, he saw the outlines of Topaz and Doombringer. Topaz's eyes shone with pure hatred. "HARRIER!"

"Uh, I have to go somewhere. Sorry!" Harrier beat his wings faster, terror spurring him on. Their shapes gradually grew smaller as he flew as fast as he could. He dipped down to the forest below, letting the many leaves of the trees shield him. He held his breath as he heard the queen and her NightWing fly right past him. He thought he saw Doombringer's shadow dip down to where he was before taking off after Topaz again.

When Harrier was sure that they'd gone, he sat back and let out a shaky sigh of relief. _Doombringer knew where I was. He could've used his animus powers to capture me easily. But why didn't he do it yet?_ That question hung heavily in his mind. _Whew. At least I'm safe for now._

Harrier closed his eyes sleepily. _I'm so tired… I don't think other dragons will come and find me…_ He shook his head. _No… I definitely shouldn't stay here. I must move on._ Willing himself, the SkyWing stood up and walked slowly. _Hm, I'm guessing that this way is to the SandWings._

* * *

"Queen Aurora! We have a guest."

The queen of the IceWings narrowed her ice-blue eyes when she heard one of her dragons call her. She stood up from her throne to see that two IceWings were leading a pale SandWing into the icy room. The SandWing shivered uncontrollably from the cold.

"Your Majesty, we found this SandWing in the fringes of our territory," one dragon said. "He begged for us to take him to you."

Aurora stalked up to the dragons, her pale blue scales glittering. "Why didn't you take this SandWing immediately to the guest area?"

"Uh…" the IceWings looked embarrassed and ashamed at the same time.

"Do it now," she growled. "I don't even know how the guards stationed outside the palace let you in. They should've known. Go!" The IceWings hurriedly brought the SandWing away. The SandWing already looked half-frozen.

After taking care of some business, the queen headed to the guest area, which was further down south. She came into a small building, seeing that the SandWIng was huddled next to a roaring fireplace.

Aurora's scales prickled uncomfortably in the heat, but she ignored it and edged into the room.

"What is your name, SandWing?"

The SandWing looked up at Aurora, still shivering a little. "Uh, P-Parch, Your Majesty." The queen suspected his stammering came from the cold.

"And why have you come here?"

"U-Um, I was w-wondering if you could ally with Queen Ecru against the S-SkyWing queen."

"Ally?" Aurora mused. "I've heard that Queen Topaz is an ambitious dragon. Are you saying you want to start a war against her?"

Parch shook his head, despair plain in his eyes. "S-she already did. She stole some of us and imprisoned them. Queen Ecru tried to g-get them back… but…" The SandWing shuddered.

"What happened?" Aurora asked, wondering what was so terrible.

"There… there was… I don't know. I was b-battling SkyWings, but I heard this voice. This voice that told us that we would feel its wrath. Next thing I knew, rock spears were raining down on us. My sister… my parents… my friends… the spears st-stabbed through them. Killed them instantly." He blinked back tears, then continued after a pause. "W-we were forced to retreat. We couldn't bring back the severely wounded soldiers. Now the SkyWing queen has more SandWings in her talons. This is why we are asking for your help. Queen Ecru knows we must stop the SkyWing queen. We have h-heard that the MudWings have allied themselves with the SkyWings, too."

Aurora sat back, thinking about what Parch said. "Hm… I do not like wars, and would prefer to be not in one."

The IceWing queen locked gazes with Parch. "However, I will aid you if you pay me a large amount of treasure." Aurora told Parch the amount she wanted, and Parch widened his eyes.

"B-but… Your Majesty… that's… Queen Ecru can't afford that."

"Then I will not be involved," Aurora decided.

"The SandWings desperately need your help!" Parch pleaded.

"I set down the price. Take it or leave it," Aurora said flatly. "If Queen Ecru cannot pay, then so be it." The IceWing queen stood up and walked out of the room, adding, "You can stay here to warm up for an hour or so. After that, my guards will escort you. I wish you good luck in the war, Parch."

 _Luck, huh?_ Parch thought bitterly. _She would give us some real luck if she helped._

* * *

 **You're probably thinking, _Oh no! What happened to Gale?_ or _Harrier what are you going to do?_ or _NO the IceWing queen refused to join the fight!_ or ****maybe _WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? I HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS!_**

 **Just survive until the next chapter comes. :P**


	12. What am I feeling?

Harrier blearily opened his eyes. _Now where am I?_ He thought. He sat up, noticing that he was in a leaf hut with alarm, on a soft moss bed. The air felt damp and hot, and he heard the distant, strange, calls of birds in the distance all around him. _Oh well. I am definitely_ not _in the Kingdom of Sand._ Harrier pondered on where he was until he stepped out of the hut.

"The rainforest?" Harrier said out loud.

An unfamiliar RainWing had been standing outside the entrance. He looked surprised to see Harrier up. "Oh, you're awake!" He tilted his snout up and shouted, "Hey Chamomile! The SkyWing is awake!"

"Coming, Cassowary," a small bright yellow RainWing with a small pouch around her waist glided down. "Hello, SkyWing. What's your name?"

Harrier blinked. He had expected the RainWings to be more hostile. Nevertheless, he was still suspicious of what they were going to do next. "Greetings, RainWings. My name is Harrier." They stared back at him strangely, looking confused. _So maybe that's not how they meet with other tribes? Hm._

"Have you rested well, Harrier?" Chamomile asked.

Harrier guessed that she was a healer. "Yes, I have. Why am I here?"

"Well, we found you passed out in the outskirts of our territory," Chamomile explained.

Harrier scratched his horns. He remembered that he was thinking of heading to the SandWings… but in his sleepy state, did he manage to head in the wrong direction? He didn't mean to go to the RainWings, but from what he heard, they were a peaceful tribe. Maybe it was a good thing to stumble across them.

"Why was a lone SkyWing here?" Cassowary thought out loud. "Maybe he wanted to join the rest of those weird-looking SkyWings?" _Weird-looking?_ Harrier's ears perked up a little at that. _I know that my queenly sister did not destroy all of the Flawed… hm, I wonder, are they hiding out here too?_

"Anyways, you are welcome here," Chamomile smiled at Harrier. "You can stay with us for however long you want."

"Thank you… but don't you have to confirm this with your queen first?" Harrier inquired.

Chamomile waved a dismissive paw. "I'm sure she'll be fine with it. Right, Cassowary?"

The other RainWing nodded. "Of course. Queen Glamour wouldn't mind taking in one more SkyWing." Harrier was slightly surprised by this, but did not question the RainWings.

"Come to think about it, do you want to go and meet with your friends?" Chamomile chirped. "I'm sure you would love to be reunited with them!" _Not really,_ Harrier thought. _But maybe I can convince them that I'm not on my sister's side. If I do, I'll have less dragons that want to kill me._

"Where are they?" Harrier questioned Chamomile.

"They're currently in the guest huts," the healer answered cheerfully. "Follow me! Hey Cassowary, you can return to guard duty since Harrier's awake, okay?"

Cassowary nodded, and then he flew off.

Harrier and Chamomile didn't even have to set off. Harrier spotted a SkyWing with a partially missing tail stuffing himself with fruits.

The SkyWing lifted his head and noticed Harrier. He squinted like as if he couldn't believe who he saw. "H… Harrier?"

"That's right!" Harrier said brightly. "I'm here because I chose to defy my queenly sister, just like you."

The other SkyWing shouted, "Hey look everybody! Harrier's here!"

A few SkyWings walked over to Harrier warily. Some of them looked suspicious.

"Have you come here to spy on us?" one of them barked.

Harrier understood their hostility. At the time that Topaz chased the Flawed out, Harrier didn't do anything to stop her. _Well, maybe I helped her a little bit,_ Harrier admitted silently.

Out loud, he replied, "No, I haven't. Just like you, I have turned my back on the current SkyWing queen." A few RainWings popped their heads out of their huts, curious to see what was going on.

"And how can we trust you?" another dragon shouted from behind the growing crowd. Harrier opened his mouth to say something, but then he realized that he didn't _know_ what to say. _Well, this is quite unusual,_ a voice mused inside his head. _Don't you always have something to say?_

Before any of the other Flawed could ask any more questions, Sulfur pushed himself to the front. "Silence!" he roared. The Flawed ceased their shouts and muttered among themselves.

Sulfur continued. "Harrier, you must have a reason for coming here. Explain yourself."

Harrier rubbed his head awkwardly. "Well, I do have a good reason. My queenly sister wanted to kill me. I had this feeling that I had to leave, so I did. I had planned to go to the SandWings, but looks like I'll stay here. And, if you think I'm a spy, I'm not. Frankly, I would be horrible if I tried." He shrugged, and hoped that it was believable.

Sulfur blinked at him. "We have no rights to chase you out of the rainforest. That belongs to the RainWings, but I assume that they have welcomed you already."

"We have!" Chamomile chimed in.

"I believe you, Harrier. However, you cannot be accepted into the group. There are many dragons who would like to get their talons on you." There were a few growls from the Flawed.

Harrier dipped his head. "I understand."

* * *

Gale absentmindedly tapped her claws on the ground where she lay outside of the hut. She regretted feeling that surge of anger at Topaz, and crushing that pineapple. She shuddered. Why had she suddenly become cold towards Typhoon? Even when Gale had calmed down and returned to normal, her sister was now more wary around her. At least Whirlwind didn't witness it.

Gale had heard of the news of Harrier's arrival. Personally, she didn't mind him being here. Whatever his intentions were, she believed that he wouldn't try to cause any trouble for the Flawed.

She wished Kunzite was here. Despite on how loud she could be, like Typhoon, she missed her company.

Whirlwind poked his head out of the hut. "Hey Gale, you want to come in here?"

Gale shook her head. "Not right now. I would like to be alone." Whirlwind nodded and withdrew.

Pale, silvery moonlight filtered through the leaves of the trees, making the gold lines on Gale's scales glow. Gale sat silently, listening to the occasional call of a mysterious animal here and there.

She heard a faint rustling sound behind her, and turned to see a NightWing melting out of the shadows. Gale blinked when she realized this dragon was Courage. "Hi, Courage."

"Hello," Courage greeted quietly. "The moons are bright tonight."

"Yes, they are," Gale agreed, tilting her head up to the three moons in the dark sky. Courage sat down next to her. Gale shifted awkwardly. _Why do I feel so weird being around him?_

"What does it feel like, to lose a home?" Courage asked.

Gale blinked, surprised by this question. "Well… I guess you feel sad. And you feel like you'll never find a home like that again. Despair."

"I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable answering," Courage apologized. "I was just… curious."

"It's okay," Gale mumbled. _I wonder… is the rumor about the NightWings having their powers back true? Does Courage have a mind-reading power?_ She realized that she was worrying so much about Topaz that she forgot that she had to be careful around NightWings.

It was risky, but Gale decided to do it. "Do the NightWings have their powers back?" she blurted.

Instead of looking offended or possible maybe even angry, Courage sat back with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hm… I suppose it won't hurt to tell you. In fact, they do."

A cold chill ran through Gale. _If the NightWings have the powers again…_

The NightWing saw the look on Gale's face. "I'm not reading your mind right now, don't worry. I've learned not to invade another dragon's mind, so I block it out. Your thoughts are safe." Gale inwardly sighed in relief, trusting him. Courage didn't seem like the kind of NightWing who would lie.

"So tell me, why were you alone this night?" Courage inquired. "You're usually with your siblings."

 _So he watched me._ "...I just felt like being alone," Gale answered.

Courage nodded. "I understand that you have to be alone sometimes." They sat there, staring up at the stars for a few more moments. Courage adjusted his sitting position, accidentally brushing his wing against her bare shoulder.

Gale jumped, and Courage retracted his wings immediately, looking slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, Gale!"

"Er… it's no problem," Gale mumbled again.

Courage smiled at Gale. "You're very kind, you know. Especially to Capybara."

The SkyWing did not expect that. "Well… thank you, Courage."

"No need to thank me. It's really how you are," Courage dipped his head. "It's my time to go now. Have a good night, Gale!" He flashed a warm smile at her before taking off. Gale sat there, a bit flustered. _He's so nice to me. I should've acted like any SkyWing would act towards a NightWing. But… I have a strange feeling. What am I feeling?_

* * *

A tiny, lone, rusty red SkyWing perched on a branch in the rainforest. He slithered from tree to tree, the leaves shrouding him. His ears perked a little when he saw the RainWing homes in sight. There were no RainWings around. Instead, there were a few nocturnal NightWings guarding the place. They looked bored. _Well, they would be suspicious if I came up to them this late, even if I was part of the Flawed._ The SkyWing glided through the trees, above, gliding expertly and silently. _A RainWing skill I have!_ he thought gleefully.

Once he passed the NightWings, he reached the queen's hut. _Now, all I have to do is kill the RainWing queen._

* * *

 **Any thoughts on what's going to happen next?**


	13. Assassins and Kidnappings

The tiny SkyWing crouched on top of the queen's hut, peering down at the entrance. Two NightWings were stationed at the entrance. Instead of looking bored like the other NightWings, these dragons looked like they were on alert. However, they were not aware of the intruder, since they were facing away from the hut.

 _Still too easy._ The SkyWing had a belt around his waist, lined with pouches. In one of the pouches, he drew out a blow dart. _An item I stole._ He wished that the darts were poisoned, but they were merely sleeping darts. _Typical RainWings. Always peace-loving._

The SkyWing loaded his darts and fired, hitting the NightWings neatly right on their necks. They crumpled to the ground soundlessly. The SkyWing tucked the blow dart back into one of his pouches, alighting down to the ground. It was then that he noticed a little RainWing peeking out from the side of a hut, his eyes wide.

"Hello, little RainWIng," the SkyWing purred silkily. "You can come on out here. Don't be shy; I don't bite. I want to become friends with you. What's your name?"

The RainWing hopped out and said, "Capybara." He paused for a moment, looking at the slumped forms of the black dragons. "Did you kill the NightWings?" he squeaked.

"No, of course not, it's part of the game, little RainWing," the SkyWing assured the dragonet.

"What's your name, mister?" Capybara asked.

"Swiftflight," the SkyWing answered smoothly. "I have a little game for you. Will you come over here for a second?"

Capybara blinked at Swiftflight curiously, then walked over to the SkyWing. When Capybara got close enough to Swiftflight, the SkyWing grabbed the dragonet, took a rope that hung from his belt, and expertly wrapped up Capybara's snout before he could even react.

"Good night, little RainWing," Swiftflight purred in a dangerously quiet voice, flicking out a dagger and pressing it against Capybara's throat.

Capybara tried to scream, but the sound was muffled through the ropes. He instinctively turned around to attempt to shoot Swiftflight with his venom, as they had taught him in school, but then he realized once again that his snout was bound tightly.

Swiftflight started to press the knife in, but then he stopped when he heard a dull _thunk_ and felt a tiny prick at the back of his neck. The assassin turned around, confused, but then his senses suddenly dulled. Swiftflight crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

A NightWing landed silently next to the would-be assassin, brushing off his blowgun. "Sorry I didn't save you earlier, dragonet. Are you hurt?"

Capybara stared up at his savior, speechless.

The NightWing leaned down. "Oh no, you've got a cut on your throat." The cut Swiftflight had made on Capybara's throat was bleeding,but it wasn't bad.

Capybara was still in shock as the NightWing said assuring words to him. He picked up Swiftflight.

"Hey, Courage! What happened?" Another NightWing, this one bigger and darker, landed next to the first NightWing.

"This SkyWing was going to kill a dragonet, Valiant," Courage explained. "I happened to hear a noise near the queen's hut at my post, so I came to check it out. Next thing I knew, I saw this SkyWing with a knife against this little one's throat. So, I used the blowguns that the RainWings gave us."

"Who knew the blowguns would come in handy," Valiant mused. "The RainWings advised us to not try to hurt any intruders, enemy or not. I guess it worked."

"Yeah. Do you mind if you go alert the queen?" Courage asked.

"The RainWing queen?"

"Yes."

Valiant gave Courage a curt nod and flew up Glamour's hut. He saw the two sleeping NightWings, then noticed the darts on the necks. Valiant passed them, brushing past the lichen that covered the entrance.

"Queen Glamour!"

A few moments later, in the darkest corner, a big shape moved. Through the dark, Valiant saw a ripple of colors pass through the queen's scales. Even after living his whole life next to RainWings, he couldn't quite understand what the meaning of the colors were.

"Wha…?" Glamour groaned. "Who's in my room?"

"My deepest apologies for invading your space, Queen Glamour," Valiant said. "However, there is a reason for disturbing you at such a quiet time. A SkyWing has attempted to murder a RainWing dragonet."

Glamour blinked sleepily at the NightWing for a moment, then suddenly she shot straight up. She instantly turned white, dots of black contrasting along her pale scales. " _What_?"

"Don't worry," Valiant said quickly. "The problem is solved, if temporarily. The SkyWing is knocked out right now, and the dragonet has not been killed."

"Show me now," Glamour ordered, the white fading away, replaced with more blacks. By the time Valiant led the queen out, there were already a few RainWings gathered around Courage and Capybara. Some NightWings had heard of the news, too; they returned to their post immediately to watch for more dangers.

Gale walked out of her shared hut, hearing of the news. Whirlwind had refused to wake up and Typhoon seemed to be in a good dream; she didn't want to disturb either of them. They could hear of the news tomorrow. She saw a few other SkyWings there too.

Courage told Glamour of what happened, and the queen stared down at the unconscious SkyWing on the ground. The dragons went silent, waiting for the RainWing queen's answer.

"Who sent this dragon?" she hissed.

"This dragonet may know," Valiant said to the queen, indicating to Capybara. _Capybara?_ Gale thought, walking over to the crowd.

"U-U-Um," Capybara stammered. He nervously looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him. "W-Well… I wasn't tired tonight. So I decided to take a walk. I thought I saw a dragon in the trees, so I followed him to the queen's hut. I wanted to know what he did, then I saw him shoot at those NightWings-" Capybara paused and pointed to the black dragons right outside Glamour's hut. "-with a blowgun. And then he saw me. He said that he was playing a game, so I believed him. He said his name was Swiftflight, and told me to come over to him. When I came over to him…" The RainWing dragonet broke down, crying. Capybara's mother hurried forwards to comfort him.

Gale froze when Glamour turned her head towards her. "Do you know that SkyWing, Swiftflight? Does the name ring a bell?"

Gale understood why the RainWing queen would suspect her, because she was a SkyWing too. However, she knew that Zephyr would never do this.

The wingless SkyWing shook her head. "No, I don't recognize him. He must have come from Topaz." The mention of the SkyWing queen's name provoked hisses from a few of the Flawed.

Sulfur pushed to the front of the dragons, alert and wide awake even though it was in the middle of the night. "Gale is right. However, I do know him."

Gale heard a gasp from a RainWing, but did not turn around to see who it was. Glamour narrowed her eyes. "How?"

"Before I left the Sky Kingdom, I heard that Swiftflight was a hired assassin," Sulfur explained.

"Which does explain why a lone SkyWing in the middle of the night attempted to kill our queen and Capybara," another RainWing said knowingly.

Gale felt a little relief. It didn't look like the RainWings were going to blame the Flawed.

Glamour leaned over Swiftflight, observing the still form. "We will wait for him to wake up, which would be in the morning. Elegant, please remove anything that looks like weapons on him. After that, you may take him away."

A very slender RainWing padded over to Swiftflight, bowing to the queen. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Why not just dump some cold water on his head?" one of the Flawed suggested, almost nonchalantly.

Glamour hunched her shoulders, peering at the SkyWing who spoke. "It would be terrible unpleasant and disrespectful. We are more merciful than the other tribes, but that does not mean that we will let him go."

Just then, a tiny RainWing burst into the clearing, bumping into some of the other dragons as he crash-landed. A dragon rushed forwards to support the messenger, who was gasping hoarsely. His scales were pure white, the color of fear.

"What happened?" Glamour strode up to the fatigued RainWing.

"My… m-my queen…" the messenger choked out as he struggled for breath. "Attack… the RainWings… SkyWings…"

" _SkyWings_?" Glamour almost roared. Before the messenger could say anything else, he tottered away from the dragon supporting him, eyes rolling into his head as he thumped down to the ground.

"Unconscious," Elegant called over from Swiftflight. "I think he's too tired." A RainWing came forwards to take the exhausted messenger away.

Suddenly, there were faint cries of surprise and terror behind them.

Realization dawned on Gale. "Topaz's dragons!" she blurted. "They're attacking!"

Glamour didn't reply as the other dragons looked at her for orders. There was panic starting to ripple among the dragons gathered.

The queen seemed to have snapped out of a trance. "We must defend the rainforest! Protect the dragonets! Remember your battle training!" With that, she launched off into the air, the other RainWings following her. A few were too scared to follow, scurrying back into their huts.

"Not the best battle training," A SkyWing muttered next to Gale. Capybara was nowhere to be seen, most likely moved away from danger. Elegant was flying Swiftflight away.

"Flawed, we will help the RainWings and NightWings," Sulfur declared. "However, you do not need to fight. I can understand. Who are with me to fight?" He made one powerful, thunderous clap with his wings to emphasize. By this time, all of the Flawed in Sulfur's group had woken up to the commotion and heard of what was going on. Growls of approval came from the Flawed as they nodded their heads.

The SkyWings followed Sulfur. None stayed behind except for the dragonets and their protectors.

"So, what about the assassin?" Typhoon asked, who had just woken up.

"Oh yes, I remembered that you didn't hear all of it," Gale said. "Let's talk about this later." She suddenly slowed, letting other older dragons past her into the battle. _Battle…?_ As this processed in her mind, she suddenly felt sick. Gale had never been in real battle before, as she was just a dragonet. But then again, she had matured far more than the usual dragonet because of her hardships. _Still…_ _I don't know how old I am to be able to go into battle…_ A thought struck her. _I_ don't _know how old I am anymore. I lost track the day I was "executed." It has been months since that day, wasn't it?_

Gale had trained for a long time with Zephyr everyday, building up her skills and the advantages of her missing wings. Gale heaved in a deep breath, then mustering up her courage, she plunged into battle.

There were roars of victory and screams of pain mingled together in one, big, mass. Gale saw most of Topaz's soldiers far back, while the RainWings, NightWings, and the Flawed were closer to her. The wingless dragon suddenly picked up a faint whistle behind her with her keen ears. She dropped and rolled quickly to one side instinctively, one thing normal dragons could not do expertly.

Nearly a split second later, a rather large red SkyWing crashed onto the spot where she just had been earlier. He grunted as he realized he missed, turning towards Gale.

She wasn't there anymore.

Gale leaped at another of Topaz's soldiers, clawing at his back. She flinched as she felt flesh tear underneath her claws. Gale leaped off him as he hissed. The older SkyWing lunged towards her, and Gale leaped back. However, he had managed to nick her with a claw on her snout.

The wingless dragon barely felt it, adrenaline coursing through her as she clawed his neck. Enraged, the SkyWing sunk his claws deep into Gale's side. She staggered back with the SkyWing still latched onto her side letting out a cry of pain. Before her enemy could deal any further damage to her, a black shape crashed into him.

The SkyWing released his hold on Gale and battered the NightWing with his huge wings. The NightWing reared back on his hind legs and blasted fire into his face.

Gale stared. _Courage!_ Despite being burned, the SkyWing suddenly heaved up, throwing Courage off. The NightWing yelled in surprise as Topaz's soldier pinned him down. Gale leaped in, digging her claws into the enemy's shoulders. He let go of Courage, and the black dragon slashed at him while Gale attacked from behind.

The two dragons proved too great for him. The SkyWing turned and disappeared into the writhing bodies of the other dragons.

"You okay?" Courage panted.

Gale gulped in air, then nodded. "Thanks for saving me."

Courage managed to give a grin, not at all like the silly Beryl-grin. "No, _thank you._ You pulled him off me."

Suddenly, there was a loud roar. "Kunzite!" Gale identified, joyful to hear that her friend was here.

Behind her, Gale saw Zephyr speeding towards them, faster then she had expected with his lopsided gait. Kunzite flew just behind him along with the rest of the Flawed, shouting. "Reinforcements on the way! Coming to help to save the day! Hey, that rhymes!"

"Zephyr's group!" Courage exclaimed. "They've come with the rest of the NightWings!" And indeed, Courage was right. Seeing that the numbers had multiplied, Topaz's soldiers abruptly turned and fled. The RainWings and NightWings that were fighting against the enemy let out ragged cheers.

Kunzite flew directly into Gale, knocking her off her paws. "Gale! Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Calm down," Courage chuckled. "Who is this, Gale?"

"A friend," Gale answered, looking up to Kunzite. Cyclone flew down next to Kunzite. Gale recognized him as one of the first dragons she had met, introduced by Kunzite.

"Looks like they were too scared," the one-eyed dragon rasped. "A pity."

Gale winced as she felt pain lance through her. She stared down at her left side, noticing that her deep wound was bleeding. "I think I'll go to the healer," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Do you want me to help you?" Courage asked.

"OH NO!" Kunzite bellowed. "GALE! YOU'RE HURT!"

"Shush, it's okay," Cyclone nudged Kunzite. "She'll survive."

"Yeah… I will," Gale said, but then flinched. She didn't protest as Courage helped her to the healer's hut.

There was a sudden cry from the RainWings. "Boa!" a tiny RainWing wailed. "Where are you?"

"My sister is missing too," an older RainWing said, bowing her head.

"Ruthless is gone!" a dark purple NightWing announced shrilly.

"Hey…" a small, silver-black NightWing called out quietly. "Um… I think I know why."

Heads turned towards her, intent.

"I think… I believe that they were taken prisoners by Topaz."

* * *

 **Uh-oh, cliffhanger. Hm, for some reason, I don't feel quite satisfied writing this. School has hit me like a brick. Literally. And I have TONS of homework. And life problems. And the love for video games. It's getting harder and harder to progress, and I can only get on the computer for 30 minutes a day. That includes ALL screen time, including video games and chatting with friends... and such and such. So I don't have much time to write this anymore, as I used to in the summer.**

 **Just** **saying. So I'M SO SORRY if I publish later than the usual update schedule, which is two weeks.**


	14. The Arena

**Ugh. I really love this story, but writer's block is creeping up on me, slowly. Guess what? Shorter chapters, longer publish dates. Yay. Leave me alone, school. And videogames. Don't you dare intervene between me and my stories. Goodbye, go away! Shoo! It's not going away. QwQ**

* * *

"Taken?" the tiny RainWing shrieked. "What do you mean? Kidnapping?"

"Oh, yes," the silver-black NightWing said gravely. "I had a vision." Gale remembered that Courage had told her the NightWings had their powers back. She wondered what sort of vision that NightWing had, and leaned in to listen.

"I had a vision," the NightWing began, "that the RainWings and the NightWings were in a sort of arena."

The RainWIngs looked especially interested.

"A vision?" one of them said thoughtfully.

"Yes, the NightWings have visions," Courage reminded the RainWings, who still looked mystified. "Continue on, Visionseeker."

The NightWing called Visionseeker continued. "It wasn't too clear, but it was definitely not good. There were a mix of NightWings, RainWings, and SandWings. And… I thought I saw RainWings fighting each other."

"Other RainWings?" Gale echoed, perplexed.

Visionseeker clutched her head, thinking hard. "Yes. Other RainWings. That was it. This is a path to the future that will most likely happen. I don't know when it may happen, it could be happening tomorrow or a few months later."

"Then we must act _now_ ," a big NightWing roared, slamming a fist to the ground. It was Queen Victorious. "Zephyr, I will aid you. I fear that Topaz may take more of my subjects."

"As well as mine," Glamour added. "We have sat idly back for too many years. The RainWings must take action."

"Thank you both for your support." Zephyr bowed to each of the queens formally. "I give my deepest appreciations to both of you, Your Majesties."

* * *

Gale sat inside the healer's hut, trying not to flinch as one of the healers wrapped up her injured side in a leafy bandage.

The RainWing stepped back. "There, you're done. All you have to do is to get a little rest, and don't put too much strain on your side."

"Alright." Gale heaved herself up, carefully not to stretch her wound. "Am I allowed to go?"

The healer chuckled. "Of course, there's no way I wouldn't let you leave. Next patient." As the next patient settled down in front of the healer, she noticed that the healer's eyes were wandering over her back curiously.

Gale pretended not to notice, walking slowly out of the hut. She sighed inwardly. _Why_ don't _I have wings? What made me so that I was flawed?_

* * *

Torrid woke up to noises. She raised her head sleepily, wondering what the sounds were all about.

Wait… did she imagine it, or did she hear _cheering_?

"Fight! Fight! Fight! FIght!"

Torrid got up and looked down at the arena. She was confused to find that there were two dragons at the bottom of the arena, circling each other.

 _Why didn't I notice before?_ Torrid shook her head, clearing the last of the grogginess. On of them was a SandWing with his wings bound, while the other was an orange SkyWing. The SandWing was… Barren. Interested and worried for his life, she leaned down and looked. She could see no wounds so far, so she assumed the fight just started.

"Blood! Blood! Blood!" the audience outside of the arena chanted. Barren looked almost relaxed as he crouched. He didn't look like the typical who would panic. Instead of having the fire in his eyes like most fighters would have, his black eyes were blank and emotionless. Torrid wondered if his movements would be slow, too. After all, he spoke slow and was boring.

The SkyWing bared his teeth and leaped at Barren. The SandWing blinked once. With amazing speed, he dodged the SkyWing. As the surprised dragon flew by, Barren swiftly jabbed his barb at the dragon's side before stepping back.

The SkyWing landed with a thump, shuddering as as the poisons took effect.

"Awwwwww," the crowd said with disappointment. A few boos came from some SkyWings. They had not expected for the fight to end so quickly.

"Quickly, quickly!" a small SkyWing shouted, darting into the arena. "Medical assistance, please!" Two dragons carrying packs over their backs landed down next to the injured SkyWing. Three guards surrounded Barren and flew him up to his prison, one holding his tail barb out of the way. However, Barren did not resist at all, letting them lead him up. They clipped his wires on, then flew back down.

" _What_ was _that_?" Torrid asked Barren, still confused on what had just happened.

Barren scratched his head. "Apparently, the SkyWing queen has a new thing up in her mind. She's letting her dragons fight the prisoners. If they win, they get riches, and the prisoner dies. If they lose, they have healers to tend to them afterwards, if they survive, that is. The stronger the prisoner, the more riches there will be."

"For _fun_?" Torrid asked, disgusted. "Or rather, for the riches."

"I know," Barren sighed. "There are quite some greedy dragons out there."

"Now to think about it," Torrid started, "I didn't expect you to put up such a fight. You were really fast dodging that SkyWing."

Barren rolled his eyes- _slowly_ , of course. "That SkyWing was overconfident. He probably thought he saw a dragon who had absolutely no battle experience."

"I haven't seen you talking this much before," Torrid managed to joke in their situation, as they were prisoners.

"That's my act," Barren explained.

"But…" Torrid wrinkled her snout. "...that does seem like your personality. You know, well, _slow._ " Barren blinked at her in that same, sluggish, way she had seen in him before. She laughed softly.

Torrid suddenly turned serious. "In my days around the palace as a soldier, I haven't seen your face before. I should have. But, why not?"

Barren scratched his scales. "I don't know. I don't think I've seen you around before either." Then he grinned. "Of course not. I lived alone in the desert."

"I didn't know there were rogues," Torrid said confusedly. "Or… SandWings living all by themselves in the desert."

A voice called out suddenly. "Ladies and gentledragons, we have an upcoming battle!" A thunderous cheer rose from below.

Torrid scrambled to the edge, looking down. "Hey, who's next?"

Two guards flew up to Torrid out of nowhere, unclipping her wires and yanking the SandWing off the platform. Torrid snarled and tried to stab her tail into one of her captors, but someone was already holding her tail firmly.

"First up, and the very, _very_ , first RainWing to be ever at the arena… Quetzal!"

A rather nervous-looking RainWing stood in the arena, completely white. He was trembling.

There were no cheers, neither boos. There was never a RainWIng in the arena before, so the crowd did not know how they fought. Or _if_ they fought at all.

Two guards dropped a silvery midnight-black female NightWing into the arena next. She stood up, slowly, looking around with an almost curiously awed expression.

"Next, is _Mysterious_ of the NightWings!"

"Boo!" some of the overlookers shouted. "NightWings are no entertainment! They're weak, they're weak!" The NightWing didn't seem ruffled by the insults thrown at her. She was unusually calm in a dreamy way.

A rather bulky blood-red SkyWing flapped down into the arena, landing heavily.

"This next battle's challenger… Thunder of the SkyWings!"

The crowd cheered loudly. The SkyWing named Thunder puffed out his barrel chest importantly. "Naturally, I'll defeat them!" he boasted. "No dragon can stand in my way!"

"Kill 'em all and get your treasure, Thunder!" a rather high voice squealed in excitement. Torrid couldn't see who had called out, nor did she see the announcer. _Pff_ , Torrid thought. _What an arrogant and vain dragon. I'll pretty sure I can stand in his way._

Torrid twisted and turned, struggling to get away from the guards. They ignored her and flew down to the arena, dropping her unceremoniously. She tried to fly, but remembered that her wings were bound. _No… no…_ Torrid thought, dread rising like a wave ready to engulf her. _I'm not… this can't…_

"And last, but not least, Torrid of the SandWings!"


	15. A Fight For Your Life

**Alright. Yup. Next one.**

* * *

Torrid swayed as the unseen announcer called out her name. _No_ , she thought, shaking her head, _I am a soldier, I must stay strong. After all, soldiers, are meant to fight, not cower._ She straightened herself, glaring icily at the SkyWing, Thunder. He glared back, then leered.

 _Okay_. Torrid surveyed each dragon, scanning them for weaknesses. Thunder looked like the strong type. He could probably kill any of them easily, if given the chance. However, the SkyWing seemed to be slow. The SandWing moved her eyes to the RainWing next. He seemed to be pretty weak, and too scared, so she didn't have to worry about him.

However, the NightWing seemed a bit suspicious… she seemed to have a weird air around her, like as if she had some kind of hidden power. Torrid would have to be careful around her.

"Ready… claws up… fight!" the announcer bellowed. Torrid wasted no time. She immediately went for Thunder, who was the currently the most dangerous threat. The SkyWing grunted as Torrid slammed into him. Thunder fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Torrid swiped at his snout while she was still on him, her tail curling over her head, ready to strike.

The SandWing lost her balance and toppled back when Thunder pushed up with unsuspecting force. She struck down with her tail, but was too late and missed. Torrid yelped as Thunder's talons shot forwards and clamped down on her tail in a viselike grip. The crowd cheered in excitement.

The SandWing tried to wriggle out of his grip, but he was too strong. She twisted around and clawed at him. He ignored her blows, instead pinning her down with his body. Then, he applied pressure to the end of her tail.

 _Crack crack crack!_

Torrid screeched in pain as Thunder crushed and twisted her tail in a torturous way. Torrid twisted her head around and sunk her sharp teeth into his thick arm.

The SkyWing flinched, gritting his teeth. Instead of letting go, he picked her up. Torrid looked down, realizing what he was going to do. She braced herself as he prepared to fling her into one of the walls of the arena.

Thunder suddenly dropped her as a jet of flame hit him. Thunder bellowed and beat himself to the ground to kill the flames.

The SandWing saw that the NightWing Mysterious had leaped on him, slashing at his back furiously. The crowd was energized by this new attack by the NightWing. They had not thought she would put up quite a fight. The NightWing paused her assault to give Torrid a quick nod. She knew what it meant. _We're teaming up against him._

Torrid looked up, surprised that Mysterious would attack. Did she mean to save her?

However, Thunder was powerful in melee combat. With a mighty wrench, he pulled Mysterious off himself. Mysterious stumbled as she landed.

Thunder's muscular tail swept the NightWing right off her paws. Unbalanced, Mysterious fell with Thunder on top of her. Torrid jumped in to help, snapping her jaws over Thunder's tail like a trap. She tried to raise her tail to stab him in the back, but her tail failed her and flopped uselessly back down to the ground. _Great_ , Torrid thought angrily. _My greatest weapon, gone._

Thunder stepped off Mysterious, struggling to free his tail. As he tried, Mysterious reared up and slashed at his neck.

Suddenly, a small SkyWing leaped up from the stands. "I want to help!" he proclaimed loudly.

Thunder broke away from the two prisoners and begrudgingly said, "Join if you want."

 _Oh no, another challenger coming down_. Torrid fiddled with her claws nervously.

"Thunder approves!" the _still_ unseen announcer bellowed. "Come down to join the fight, Thermal! If you two win, you will split the reward with each other! Give 'im a round of applause, folks!" There was a rumbling cheer from the crowd as they clapped their wings together and stamped their feet in excitement.

Thermal leaped down, landing gracefully like a cat. "Alright," he smirked. "Which of you ladies are going down first?"

Torrid snarled menacingly, her black eyes glittering. "Try me, SkyWing."

Thermal pointed at her with one talon and a cocky grin. "You're the smart one, aren't you? Then I choose you!" Without waiting for her to move, he sprang, his wings battering at her. Torrid was buffeted, trying to shield his strong blows with her arms. She glanced the other way to see Mysterious fighting Thunder, who was not doing so well. Her momentary distraction gave Thermal an advantage, and he raked her swiftly across her snout. Torrid jumped back, wiping away the fresh blood that oozed from her wound.

Thermal stood up straighter and laughed. "Oh, you sure are a funny SandWing," he sneered. "What happened to your pretty little face? Did someone just _scratch_ you?"

Torrid crouched down low, revealing her fangs. "Cocky SkyWing," she growled. "Thinks he knows everything."

Thermal simply flashed a toothy smile at her. In reply, Torrid blasted fire, aiming at his face. Thermal dodged quickly and rushed at Torrid. As he passed her, he snagged his hooked claws under her scales and made a long gash on her side. Torrid leaped back. Her claws flew forwards and managed to strike Thermal on his shoulder.

For a moment, Thermal looked surprised, but then he shook it away.

"How'd you like that, SkyWing?" Torrid growled, wincing as she felt warm blood stream down her side. That was a pretty deep cut.

"Honey, if you think that hurts me, it doesn't," Thermal said, barking a laugh. "Just look at you." Torrid was panting, and her limbs were starting to ache with exhaustion. _Just how can I fight this dragon?_ Her eyes scanned him for any sign of weakness. They looked to be none, but perhaps his weakness was not visible.

An idea popped in her head. She didn't know if it would work, but she had to try. Torrid slumped her shoulders as if defeated, lowering her head as if giving up. With a triumphant yowl, Thermal leaped at the SandWing, his jaws outstretched as if to snap them over her throat. SHe remembered what Barren did. At the last moment, Torrid dodged the SkyWing. He landed face first into the ground, letting out an _oof_.

Torrid breathed in, feeling the heat rise within her. Smoke began curling out of her nostrils. Thermal staggered up to his feet, still dazed from his rough landing. When he looked up, a roar of flame greeted him.

Torrid continued with her fiery attack until she had no more breath to spare. Puffing, she came closer when the flames cleared out.

There was nothing recognizable of what was left.

A blackened, misshapen, form lay in front of her, burned beyond recognition. She felt the strong urge to recoil in horror. The dragons in the stands gasped.

"Thermal had accepted the challenge, but he knew that death was a possibility that awaited him," the announcer yelled. "Thermal is down!"

 _I am a soldier. I should not feel pity or grief. My purpose is to kill dragons for the sake of my queen._ This _is what a soldier should be._ Still, Torrid couldn't help but feel a bit sick. She _might_ have killed dragons by… cutting their throats, but never killing them by fire.

Swallowing back the regret that threatened to surface, she turned around to see how the battle of Mysterious and Thunder were doing.

The NightWing was pinned against the wall of the arena by her throat. She was choking, losing air. However, for some reason, she wasn't struggling. It might've been because she was too weak. Torrid came at Thunder, claws scoring down his back. The big SkyWing roared and whipped around to intercept Torrid, giving her a mighty whack with his body. The impact sent Torrid flying. Instinctively, she tried to snap open her wings, but then the unusual tightness in her wings reminded her that they were still bound.

Torrid let out an involuntary yelp of pain when she thumped down to the ground,her wounds throbbing. She attempted to stand up, but then collapsed back down to the ground, drained of any energy she had left. She looked up at the approaching SkyWing with a desperate gaze. He only cracked his jaw, and laughed. Thunder flexed his claws, then brought them down, aiming straight at her exposed neck.

A black blur intercepted his attack, and Torrid blinked up slowly. There was a spray of red as warm droplets spattered on her wings. Then the NightWing was falling down. There was a loud thud as Mysterious fell down to the ground, her throat slashed open. There was a high-pitched scream to the left of Torrid. It was Quetzal. To think about it, Quetzal was completely ignored by everyone, as they were absorbed in the fight.

The small RainWing was hurling himself at Thunder, his scales pitch-black. At the same time, tears were streaming down his face.

Thunder guffawed. "Ooooh, a little RainWing. How scary." The crowd seemed to find it amusing too, as chuckles rippled throughout the crowd. Torrid glared at all of them. How could they laugh when a dragon was just killed?

Quetzal halted in front of Thunder. Suddenly, his jaws opened wide, revealing long fangs. Black venom shot out. The droplets landed right into Thunder's eyes.

Some of the dragons in the crowd recoiled as Thunder crumpled to the ground, shrieking. He pulled his claws over his face, gouging deep red marks.

Torrid stared in shock and horror. Did it really cause him so much pain?

"HELP!" Thunder screeched. SkyWings immediately came down and flew him out. Torrid wondered if the SkyWing would live through it. The RainWing was crouching down next to Mysterious. He was a dark shade of blue, and his tears mingled with the NightWIng's blood.

"Please, Mysterious!" the RainWing cried out, clutched her limp talons in his. "Stay with me. Don't go. Please…"

The NightWing looked at Quetzal with clouded eyes. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth as she whispered hoarsely. "...I knew this would happen. I saw… my own future. Either way… I would die, and I knew it… Quetzal… you were… a good friend…"

"No!" Quetzal threw his wings around her, sobbing. Torrid didn't know what to do. She reached over with a wing, brushing his.

No one in the audience spoke a word. They all looked on, silenced by this unexpected moment. No one had grieved for a fallen one in the arena before.

"Torrid…" the SandWing jerked, wondering why the NightWing would call her.

The NightWing looked up at her. "Take… care… of my friend… okay?" Then she squeezed Quetzal's talons weakly. Her eyelids closed, and her talons slipped from Quetzal's. The RainWing let out a cry of grief. Torrid looked at the crowd. A few were looking away ashamedly.

Topaz broke the silence. "What are we waiting here for?" she snapped. "Soldiers, take them away, dispose of the NightWing's body. We have work to do."

"The challengers lost!" the announcer shouted. "The winner are… the prisoners!" Normally, the crowd would have booed, but now thy just sat with solemn silence. The guards came down and took Torrid away.

 _Take care of my friend, okay?_ Mysterious's last words echoed in Torrid's mind. She was flown up to her stone island, and watched sadly as Quetzal was placed far away from her and Mysterious's body was removed.

Without even looking at Barren, Torrid closed her eyes and ignored her broken tail and bleeding wounds. Even though she barely knew the NightWIng, they was a hole in her heart. Mysterious could've chosen not to save her, but she did.

Was she going to have to live on like this, to fight day after day endlessly, experiencing fear and pain as dragons died in front of her?

Would she be the next one to die?


	16. Preparation

**Meh. I know it's been a while since I updated. However, the story is progressing to the final battle! Hang on there, readers!**

* * *

Queen Ecru of the SandWings made her way into the RainWing's part of camp, grimacing at the wetness of the rainforest. She loved it dry; it just made her miserable squelching through muddy ground filled with strange plant life and obnoxious buzzing bugs. She snorted with displeasure, but did not complain. Four guards surrounded her, reacting in the same manner.

A dragonet came out of one of the leaf huts. "Hello there!" he squeaked. An older dragon stepped out from behind the little RainWing, scowling at him.

"This is the _queen_ you are talking to," he snapped. "Show some respect!" The RainWing turned to the SandWing queen, bowing to her. "I am sorry, Your Majesty. RainWing hatchlings nowadays are rude and ignorant of the other tribes."

Queen Ecru shook her head. "No, it is fine. After all, I am the first SandWing he has ever met, all I right?" The dragonet looked up at her and nodded. He closed his eyes in intense concentration, and a ripple of pale yellow transformed him.

The dragonet looked back, and mimicked a SandWing's tail by curling it. "I look like a SandWing now!" he squealed.

One of Ecru's guards grunted. "We should go. We aren't here for sightseeing."

"All right," the queen sighed. As she walked away, she called back to the RainWing and his dragonet. "Take care." She and her guards stepped into a patch of forest that was quiet, away from prying eyes. This was where the queens were supposed to meet. Ecru pondered on how unusual the RainWings acted. They seemed to have been expecting the SandWings, and all of them were friendly without a single trace of hostility.

"Queen Ecru!" a voice called from the treetops. Ecru blinked and looked up, surprised to see a big RainWing with flower necklaces draped over her. She flew down from her perch and landed gracefully onto the ground. A NightWing and a RainWing accompanied her.

"Queen Glamour of the RainWings," Ecru acknowledged her with a dip of her head.

"Welcome to my kingdom!" Glamour said with a spread of her colorful wings. "Now, guards, I don't think you are needed here anymore." Her guards gave a brisk nod and went away.

"Don't you think guards should be posted around you all the time?" Queen Ecru asked, eyeing her. "You know that we could attack you now."

Glamour shook her head, smiling. "I trust you," she replied. "Besides, having guards around day and night is quite annoying." She leaned in. "What were you here for?"

"You know very well." Ecru's black eyes narrowed. "We are here to forge an alliance, yes?"

"Correct," a deep voice boomed, and Queen Victorious of the NightWings walked up to them, a NightWing guard by her side.

"You are late," Glamour observed.

"I had important matters to handle," the giant NightWing retorted. "Now, as said, we were here to make temporary alliances."

"Yes," Ecru agreed.

"Let us begin then," Glamour announced.

* * *

Gale was sitting in a patch of sunshine in a quiet spot, munching on a pineapple. Typhoon and Whirlwind sat next to her, while Kunzite stood in the back as if she was their bodyguard.

"How do you think the negotiations are going on?" Typhoon asked Gale.

The wingless dragon shrugged. She pointed her snout at Whirlwind, who was napping by her side. "He has been eavesdropping. Ask him."

"Huh?" Whirlwind rolled to his side, sleepily looking at Gale. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, _Whirlwind_ ," Typhoon smirked. "What have you heard from the queens?"

Gale's brother scratched his head. "Oh. That thing. I do admit, I was eavesdropping."

Kunzite scowled at Whirlwind. "You shouldn't be listening in to a very important meeting that has to be private. It is _classified_ information."

"Who cares." Whirlwind paused to yawn, then continued. "I heard that they're officially joining alliances. They're going to prepare for war."

"War?" Gale echoed.

"I can feel it in the air." Kunzite clenched her talons. "The air, the atmosphere itself. It feels tense. Even the RainWings' cheerfulness won't hover for long."

Typhoon rose up. "War is coming," she growled. "Our leader does not even need to warn the Flawed. We all know. War is coming."

"Hey, I was a former soldier at the Sky Kingdom," Kunzite puffed out her chest a little. "I'm ready for any war."

"You were a new soldier," Typhoon jumped in. "Anyways, I don't think there has been a war in quite some decades."

"What about the SeaWings?" Gale inquired. "I've heard that the IceWings have chosen not to fight."

"Meh… the queens _did_ discuss that matter," Whirlwind answered. "They have not seen any SeaWings at all at the border. The SandWings sent two messengers into their territory, but they came back and reported that they have not seen any SeaWings."

"They probably know about the war," Kunzite grumbled. "Most likely they're just hiding in that cozy ocean of theirs, minding their own dragons and their little lives."

"Quite true," a quiet voice said from behind them. Gale turned to see Courage.

"What are you here for?" Kunzite asked the NightWing.

The NightWing's eyes flicked to Gale. "I assume you already know that there is going to be a war, so there's no need to tell you. The morning after tomorrow, we will fight."

"Already?" Gale gulped. _War? Fighting just a couple days from now?_ She fiddled with her claws nervously. _Can I fight? What will happen? What about the missing RainWings and NightWings?_ All these thoughts rushed through her head in nearly a moment.

"Are you okay?" Courage interrupted her from her thoughts.

"Oh… what?" Gale realized her talons were trembling slightly. She clasped them together. "...no, not really."

"You look a bit pale," Whirlwind observed, then closed his eyes to nap again.

"Typical Whirlwind. That's how he worries." Kunzite rolled her eyes. She patted Gale. "Don't worry. I'll find something to calm you down. How about a… what was that again, a banana?"

Typhoon jumped up immediately. "I'll come with you!" She winked at Gale. "We're definitely getting food for you. What do you want?"

Gale nodded at Kunite, finishing the last of her pineapple. "A banana is okay."

"Okaaaay, let's go!" Typhoon tugged a slightly grumpy Kunzite along with her. Whirlwind glanced up at them briefly before lowering his head to nap again.

Gale and Courage sat next to each other in that same silence in that night. The NightWing reached over and put his talons over her still-shaking talons. "You don't have to be scared," he murmured soothingly. "I'm here. And you don't have to fight."

"But I want to," Gale heard herself proclaim, even though part of her was really, really, scared to do so. She'd witnessed-and been in-an all-out fight between tribes. Zephyr had taught her how to fight, but she was still very unsure of her skills against a seasoned warrior.

Courage smiled reassuringly. "Gale… I'll protect you." He gazed with her with those very handsome, silver-gold eyes, his warm talons pressing against hers, wings brushing her back. Gale immediately snapped out her her trance and shook her head furiously. _This isn't happening. Why am I thinking these things? Stop it!_ She clutched her head.

The NightWing squeezed her talons gently. "If there's anything wrong, you can tell me."

The wingless dragon uncovered her head, trying not to blush. "I-I'm fine," she stuttered. "I'm just thinking about something else." She paused. "I want to protect you, too. I don't _want_ you to die."

"That's very sweet of you," Courage complimented. Gale's heart was thudding loudly as she leaned on the NightWing's shoulder. Whirlwind opened his eyes, looked at them, sighed, then closed his eyes. It didn't seem like he cared.

"I…" Gale started, but then trailed off when she saw Typhoon and Kunzite coming back. Kunzite had a boar in her jaws, and was trying to unsuccessfully chew the whole thing. She grasped something in her talons. Typhoon had a grapefruit balanced on her head. Green grapes dangled from her right talons, but she also seemed to be holding something in her left talons.

"I got what you were looking for, Gale," Kunzite chirped.

Typhoon talked at the same time Kunzite did. "I have what you wanted."

Both Flawed dragons thrust out their gifts to Gale. They were both bananas.

"Uh…" Gale gave a nervous laugh. The looks they were obviously giving each other said "I'm going to kill you."

"...I think both bananas are fabulous. Thank you, I can take both of them." Gale took the two bananas. The one Typhoon had given her was too ripe, while the one Kunzite had given her was too green. Despite this, she laughed to herself and ate them anyway. They tasted good.

All of the dragons from the three tribes were called in to practice their fighting skills once more before tomorrow morning.

"See y'all," Kunzite called. The group broke up to go battle training. As Courage passed Gale, he gave her a playful tail flick to her ear.

Gale pretended to be angry, but she was quite pleased.

After training, they ate well together. For once, it seemed like the three tribes were united, smiling and laughing with no conflict. Even the SandWings, who hated the rainforest, enjoyed their night.

Once the dragons broke up to go to bed, Gale yawned and went back to the hut. Typhoon and Whirlwind were already there and having a mock battle.

Typhoon reared up on her hind legs and spread open her wings to look more intimidating. "I'm going to defeat you!" she roared.

Whirlwind crouched in front of her. "I don't think so, Typhoon." Before she could move, he lunged for her legs and swatted at them. Unbalanced, Typhoon fell to the ground.

"I want to join!" Gale announced, leaping on top of her older sister.

"Wait, that's not fair!" Typhoon protested. "Stop squashing me, you fat cow!"

"I'm not a fat cow," Gale retorted, although there was a cheerful glimmer in her eyes. She suddenly felt something leap on top of her.

"I'm still here, you know," Whirlwind growled playfully, batting at Gale gently.

"Now who's the fat cow?" Gale chuffed.

" _Both_ of you are! Gerroff me!" Typhoon heaved up mightily and both siblings tumbled off her. The three SkyWings fell upon each other, tangling themselves and scuffling. In the moment, Gale felt like a little dragonet again, laughing and giggling as the siblings tumbled around.

"Hoi, you guys still play-fighting?" Kunzite interrupted, standing in front of them.

Gale untangled herself from her brother and sister and turned to Kunzite. "Do you want to join?"

"No, not really," the white dragon replied, then stretched her glittering wings. "Seems like you three are enjoying yourselves."

"Honestly, Kunzite," Typhoon sighed. "Stop being so serious. It's fun to be a dragonet again once in awhile. Hey, you aren't too old to act like one."

Kunzite stood up straighter. "I'm supposed to be a soldier."

"You were raised as one, right?"

"Yep."

"I think it's time to go to bed," Whirlwind interrupted, then hopped into the leaf hut before the other SkyWings could say anything.

"Oh, well," Typhoon shrugged. "Let's go get a good night's sleep for tomorrow." She walked in after Whirlwind, then added to Gale, "You should come in, too."

That left Gale with Kunzite. Gale said, "Alright. Goodnight, Kunzite."

"Night to you, Gale." Kunzite gave her a warming smile. "Do you want to fight tomorrow?"

"I want to fight," Gale decided immediately.

"I can warm you up with some battle moves tomorrow," Kunzite told her. "And… try _not_ to die, okay?" Her voice seemed to be shaking a little.

The wingless dragon blinked, surprised by Kunzite's sudden change of tone. "I'll try." With that, Kunzite whispered a good-bye to her, and left.

Gale stood there for a while, then turned back and entered the hut. Whirlwind was in a hammock, his tail hanging out of it. Typhoon was swaying in hers and had been staring at the entrance, waiting for Gale.

"Hello," Gale whispered.

Typhoon nodded back, her expression grim. "You should go to sleep."

"Hey…" Gale started slowly. "Is it okay… if you guys can sleep with me tonight?"

"Sure," Whirlwind leaped off his hammock as if he'd never been resting on it and down to the ground. "There's some leaf mats we can roll out to sleep on together." Gale helped her older brother roll the mats out. Typhoon eventually joined in.

"It's never too late to sleep together," Typhoon decided. "I'll give you all the comfort you need. Alright?" She smiled at Gale and lay down next to her.

" 'right," Gale murmured as Whirlwind settled down next to her. She felt warm and safe between the two, their breathing rhythmic and soothing. Gale was glad that she had such caring siblings. Her worries about battle drifted away until she forgot about it.

Gale started thinking about Courage and what he had said to her. _Gale… I'll protect you… I'll protect you… I'll protect you…_

Gale sighed quietly. _Oh, Courage… I… I have feelings for you… but…_ War images suddenly raced through her mind in a flash. _I can't think of him now. There's a big battle tomorrow… a really big one…_


	17. War-Torn

_The hot reek of blood was thick in the air. Dragons clashed with teeth, claws, and fire. Victims screamed helplessly in pain and fear. Bellows of brief victories were heard far and wide. There were dragons falling, engulfed in flames… dragons roaring… dragons fighting… dragons dying…_

 _Gale stood in the middle of it all… except… this time, she was a full-grown adult, a seasoned, muscled, warrior. She stood in Topaz's arena, the cruel SkyWing queen laughing as she killed her foes._ Laughing _at her. That did not last long. She planned her escape from the terrible arena, and succeeded. Finally, she had used her superior climbing skills and reached Topaz, clouded with anger. She shredded Topaz's wings like she did to her father, blasted fire into her face, and threw her off the cliff, screaming. She thought it would end there, that she would be satisfied. But it didn't._

 _The war had only started._

 _She fought hard, clawing at every dragon who approached her. She killed. She killed many, her skills deadly and quick. Throats were slashed open in merely a heartbeat. Dragons feared her. Called her a monster. Or in fact, flightless. Even without wings, she had learned how to fight well. Many bloody wounds crisscrossed her heaving sides, overlapping the old battle scars. Her eyes were aglow with an intense fire, one that burned with cold hatred as she mercilessly slaughtered her enemies. They were not just Topaz's SkyWings. They were MudWings. They were RainWings, NightWings, and all the other dragon tribes._

 _They were all her enemies._

 _It was a battle she could not lose. Only the Flawed, and only those dragons, stood by her side._

 _War had a toll on all. Hundreds of dragons died. Many families were torn apart, loved ones lost._

 _Including her family._

 _She stood on a battlefield, dead bodies littered everywhere like prey, the corpses of all tribes. Limbs stuck out of the ashes like battered war banners that were nearly shredded to nothing. Many eyes of the fallen dragons were blank and dead. Dragon fire still burned around the battlefield, dark black smoke choking the atmosphere. Patches of the ragged frost here and there glimmered._

 _Evening shone its blood-red light onto the scales of many of the fallen, casting a glitter of mingled colors across the barren landscape._

 _She walked slowly, dragging her bloodied talons through the ashy ground. She looked at the destruction around her. She spotted the mangled shape of Zephyr, his one wing twisted in an awkward angle underneath him. Cyclone lay on top of an IceWing, a clawmark over his other eye, which had no life now. Beryl was barely visible under two limp SeaWings. Kunzite still had her talons buried in another dragon's side, her face twisted into a snarl, frozen forever. Her blue blood stained her normally pristine gold-white scales. She moved on, and saw a noticeable cluster of dragons. It seemed that the queens of the tribes had fought at the same time. None had emerged the victor. Whirlwind and Typhoon were side by side, their torn wings draped over each other. And Courage… she remembered. She had shredded him. He begged her, he begged her… he hadn't beg her to not kill him. He had begged her to stop. To stop who she was now… a mindless, bloodthirsty killer. She had only laughed, said that she never had been friends with him. Then she had ripped his throat open. He had watched with those eyes that used to be ever so handsome. They didn't have the look of betrayal. His eyes were merely sad… having a look of_ pity _. Standing here now, she did not regret that moment, hated the fact that Courage had felt pity for her. Neither did she feel any pain of losing her siblings, her friends, or her fallen comrades._

 _She was the last of the Flawed standing._

* * *

 **I know, short, but... what do you think this is? Comment in the reviews!**


	18. It's Too Late

Gale gasped as she woke up with a jolt. She was breathing heavily. _It's only a dream. It's only a dream._ It _was_ only a dream. But for some reason, some very strange reason, she felt like as if this was a possible future. She shook her head. _Oh, am I a NightWing prophet now?_ She had a feeling not. Was it really possible for her to turn into… what she was in the dream? A bloodthirsty monster that all feared? _It is possible._ Her gut feeling was telling her that Topaz must be stopped. It wasn't some special vision of the future. It probably would happen if the SkyWing tyrant was not stopped. _Today._ It was in the morning. Today, they were going to battle.

Anxiety stabbed Gale like claws. She tried to calm herself down. _Not yet. Not now. It is later._ Her breathing slowed down and she looked for her siblings to see if they were next to her. They weren't. The SkyWing immediately leaped up to her feet. _What? Did they leave already? Don't tell me they did already…_ Frantically, Gale darted outside. She almost staggered in relief when she spotted the Flawed scattered around the RainWing huts, Whirlwind and Typhoon among them. It seemed like all of the Flawed had regrouped. As she hurried to her siblings, a shout halted her in her tracks.

"HEY! GALE!" a pale gold SkyWing shouted. Gale turned around and saw Beryl. For some reason, she had a sinking feeling in her chest. Cyclone followed after him, grumbling.

"Oh, hi," Gale greeted, acknowledging the two Flawed with a small tilt of her head.

"It's been a while," Beryl bounded up to Gale and grasped her talons in his, shaking them enthusiastically. She nearly stumbled with his vigorous talon-shaking.

"Take it easy," Cyclone grunted, cuffing Beryl over his head with a wing, although not too roughly.

"Alright, alright," Beryl grinned, seemingly unfazed. Gale knew that grin all too well. For some reason she felt a bit disgruntled. _Hm. And I thought his eyes were handsome at first._ She laughed softly to herself. Did she really have a crush over this goofy dragon before?

"How can you act so… so, cheerful?" Gale inquired. "There's a, um, battle coming up. Why don't you prepare?"

Beryl clasped his talons together. "I know it may seem strange, but isn't it better than going into battle anxious?"

Cyclone sniffed. "Is there really anyone _happy_ going into battle?"

"Yup," Beryl answered. "I mean like, Topaz's quite the bloodthirsty dragon!" He paused for a moment. "Hey Cyclone, do you want to duel?" The gold dragon added to Gale, "Watch me. I''m going to impress you, sweetheart."

Gale rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say." She frowned to herself. _Oh, am I Kunzite now, doing all that eye-rolling business?_

"Challenge accepted," Cyclone growled, tensing his muscles. "Then you'll see how much you can really impress the little lady." _Little lady?_ Gale's eye ridge twitched.

"WAIT. A SECOND." Kunzite suddenly barged in between the to-be duelers."What are YOU to leave me out?" She jumped in front of Beryl. "I'm sure I can freeze you into an ice block RIGHT NOW." She was already drawing her breath in.

"Um, wait, I think that's going a bit too far." Gale hopped in front of Beryl, facing Kunzite. "Maybe save that for the battle?"

Kunzite exhaled slowly, and Gale felt a cold blast of air hit her face, but not so much that it was frostbreath.

"Fine," she huffed.

Beryl batted his eyes at Gale. "Oh, how nice of you to save a helpless dragon like me," he cooed and fluttered his wings delicately, mimicking a dainty little princess. Everyone with Beryl laughed.

"Why are you so funny, Beryl?" Whirlwind said, then chuckled.

"There might as well be something wrong with his mind, the way he is prancing about joyfully right before a serious battle," Kunzite muttered under her breath.

"All RainWings! Prepare for battle!" a roar sounded. It was Glamour, the RainWing queen. A similar call echoed, fainter to the left. Victorious rose up, her dragons behind her, black as night.

Zephyr stepped up, too, next to Queen Ecru of the SandWings. "Flawed!" he shouted. Gale leaped up immediately, her friends following her as she stood behind the Flawed leader.

"Ready for battle?" Typhoon asked Gale.

"Yes," Gale answered steadily.

"Hahah, I wonder what Beryl will be like when he battles," Kunzite smirked over to Beryl. "Ya, you got anything?"

"Nope, nopenopenope, absolutely not," Beryl crouched down low and scooted away backwards on his rump until he disappeared into the sea of growing SkyWings.

Kunzite snorted. "Typical Beryl." Gale grinned at the well-known phrase that all her friends used. She was suddenly pushed forwards as the dragons behind her surged up. There was a whirlwind of wings as most of the Flawed leaped up into the sky. Those who could not fly ran right behind them.

"We shouldn't be running the whole way," Kunzite frowned. "We'd all tire ourselves out before we even reach SkyWing territory."

"Of course not," Zephyr reassured the IceWing-SkyWing. "We'll stop to rest once in awhile."

"So long for the rally," Whirlwind sighed quietly. "Should've saved it when we were there."

"We'll reach there by evening?" Typhoon guessed. "Or… maybe tomorrow morning. Or the day after tomorrow. Three moons, it can't be _that_ f-"

"OKAY. I get it!" Kunzite nudged Typhoon. "Let's not bring our hopes down. We get there when we get there."

"Right," Gale agreed, until she felt a wing brush her shoulder. She turned her head to look and nearly tripped over her own talons when she saw Beryl's grinning face _right next to her_.

"Hi!" Beryl grinned wider.

"Um… hi." Gale answered back. At the same time, she thought, _Uh… you're a bit creepy, sorry. Can you move a little away? That grin scares me. Please?_ She didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

Something distracted Gale from the corner of her eye, and she glanced up to see Courage flying at the edge of the NightWing squadron. He acknowledged her with a dip of his head and a pleasant smile. That was all Gale needed before he turned away and continued forwards with his group. _At least he's not like… Beryl._

"BERYL! YOU CREEP!" There was Kunzite again, unnecessarily shouting at him for a small reason. Well… maybe a little more than small.

"Yobble?" Beryl looked back at the gold-white dragon with wide, innocent eyes.

"You're _not_ a cute, helpless, scavenger," Kunzite said sharply. "And _why are you stalking Gale_?"

A quirky smile-not grin-tugged at the corner of Beryl's mouth. "I'm not stalking. Just hanging out with a friend."

"I'm fine for now," Gale said to Beryl. "I'd like to run alone."

The other SkyWing looked at her strangely. "Alriiiiiight." He dropped back to talk to some of the other Flawed.

They traveled for what felt like hours. That might have been literal, as the sun was now high in the sky. The tribes settled down for a brief rest, although some dragons worried that a patrol could spot them.

They allowed for some dragons to hunt in small groups. It felt unusual that dragons from different tribes were mingling together. Some of them seemed uncomfortable, but gradually, nearly every dragon was chatting and being friendly.

They did this repeatedly until evening fell. Eventually, they stayed undercover by moving under the treeline. Well, mostly. It was quite hard to keep nearly three tribes of dragons undercover, not adding the Flawed.

Strangely, no SkyWing patrols passed about. There was not a single dragon in the sky spotted.

"There's something going on…" Kunzite muttered.

"That's true." Cyclone, who had stopped by, observed the sky. "The SkyWings never stopped patrolling the territory."

"We're here," a dragon whispered into Gale's ear. The wingless SkyWing stopped, too, looking upon the mountainous home of the SkyWings. The sun's last dim light was already starting to vanish.

There was a mighty roar above as Queen Victorious sped towards the mountain's palace. "NightWings, ATTACK!"

"Wait-this was not what we agreed to-" the queen of the RainWings flapped desperately after Victorious. "We need a plan-Queen Victorious!"

"Too late," Typhoon shook her head. "Let's just go."

"Camel spit," Ecru growled. "She already blew our cover. SandWings, with me!" Roars of approval met her words, and her army flew after her.

With a sigh of exasperation, Glamour gestured with her prehensile tail. Without a word, the RainWings followed their queen in a somewhat disorganized fashion. Instead of battle cries, they let out hisses. In fact, some of them looked terrified.

 _Will they manage?_ Gale wondered. They didn't seem to be trained properly. She'd heard that they could not fight at all, once. She shook the thought away as Zephyr signaled the Flawed to charge.

As Gale started to climb the mountain, dragons flew over her head, easily surpassing her. Some of the Flawed that were able to fly helped those who were grounded.

"Need some help?" Courage was hovering over her.

"Yes, please," Gale said gratefully as she climbed onto his broad shoulders. WIthout a word, Courage launched up into the sky. She looked around for her friends. They were too busy helping the other grounded Flawed.

Gale enjoyed this brief moment that would vanish as soon as Courage would drop her off. She felt relaxed in Courage's calm presence, even if it was right before the upcoming fight. As they neared the palace, she suddenly had an uneasy twinge in her stomach that twisted into a worrying knot. She no longer felt Courage's warm scales anymore.

What was wrong? Surely someone else felt it?

Courage's muscles stiffened. He felt something too.

"I feel a strange presence in my mind…" Courage said slowly. "It's like as if… there is another… mind reader…" He halted in midair, and Gale was nearly thrown off.

The SkyWing yelped. "What is it?"

"Sorry," Courage briefly apologized, before continuing on. "I knew it. The rumors were true. There's… an animus here. You were flawed, right? They must have kept the animus secret from you and your group at the time you dragons lived here."

"Do you know who it is?" Gale asked. _You may be right, that animus could be the danger… but that's not what I feel. What I feel is far, far, worse._

Courage landed down to the ground for a moment, searching around with his mind. He suddenly clutched his head and let out a small grunt of pain. "He's there, but he knows I'm here… _stop_ trying to search my mind…"

"Courage, are you okay?" Gale asked worriedly.

The NightWing breathed in shakily. "All right. Don't worry, I'm fine." He took off to the sky again, and Gale only felt more and more dread as they neared. She felt… an _evil_ presence… could that be Topaz? It wasn't. Topaz never had that vibe around her.

Courage increased his speed, catching them up to the end of the army. It was then there were many figures in the distance, dragons lined up, row after row. It was then Gale realized her gut feeling-something… _wasn't_ right about the dragons. The MudWings and SkyWings seemed to be wearing something unnaturally shiny, too shiny for Gale's liking. Even with the last of the light fading, there were still glints here and there that caught in the pink dawn.

Gale wanted to reach out and call to her allies that they shouldn't attack. She knew it was useless already. The battle cries would drown out her quiet voice.

"It's a trap," Gale said suddenly. "They were-they were waiting for us all along."

"It's too late," Courage murmured. "We can't turn back."

* * *

 **The battle is coming up next chapter! Stay tuned for more!**


	19. Battle Cry

**I have finally updated!**

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The MudWings and SkyWings hovered in a triangular formation, backs against the palace. On the other side were SandWings, RainWings, NightWings, and the occasional chunk of odd SkyWings.

Topaz was at the head, covered in the same, strange, metallic armor. Her snout twisted leeringly as she spotted some of the Flawed. "Filthy traitors! You all survived after all."

"What irony," Gale commented. "We were nothing but loyal, until she decided to kill and exile us." She heard herself say this bitterly. The SkyWing didn't want to hate Topaz, but there was a feral rage inside that made her want to rip Topaz's throat out. _You killed my parents and made us all suffer!_ She shut her eyes for a moment, dizziness overwhelming her. _Again, what am I thinking?_

Gale felt the gentle impact through Courage as he landed down to the rocky ground. "We're down. Do you want me to stay near you?"

Gale hesitated, looking up at the dragons in the sky. "If you want to, but-"

The wingless SkyWing never got to finish. Battle cries rang throughout the air from both armies, almost at once. Her quiet voice was drowned out as the thunderous sound of many pairs of wings whirled around her. She was cowed by the intimidating roars that were let out by both sides.

Gale felt wings wrap around her for a moment. "You're be okay. I'm right here," a voice whispered next to her ear. Then those longing wings were gone. Courage stood next to her, seemingly transformed. His face was a emotionless mask as he watched the dragons in the sky. _Well, I remember reading about great battles in the scrolls,_ Gale thought, shivering. _At that time, I never knew what a_ real _battle was like. I loved reading adventurous scrolls about many, many battles. But… is this a true battle? I don't feel brave or daring or strong. I feel… useless._

As she ended those thought, dragons collided like swords clashing with each other. An unfortunate few received instant fatality, falling down to the ground. Gale looked away from those already fallen. A few of the grounded Flawed formed a "grounded" attack force, and Gale found herself among them. She knew that enemies would notice them and come down, too.

Courage shifted awkwardly, a black dragon among a red-and-orange-coloured mass of bodies.

"This way!" a faint voice cried. Zephyr pushed forwards from the back, coming to the front. "There are prisoners further in!" he continued. "We must free them." There were growls and stomps of agreement as they moved onwards.

Courage flew overhead, on the lookout for any incoming enemies. He was joined by a young white RainWing, who looked like he would rather be here than be in the battle.

"I didn't know this is a battle," he said in a very small voice. "But I want to be useful." The RainWing vanished midair, camouflaged.

As Gale bounded alongside the others, she observed the aerial battle. The RainWings were smart, using the tactic of vanishing to confuse an enemy, or suddenly flashing bright colors to blind. A few even turned to the colors of the enemy, pretending to be a MudWing or SkyWing. The NightWings used the darkening evening as an advantage, the sky matching their scales more and more. The SandWings were swift and deadly with their venomous tails. As she observed more, she noticed that… _fire didn't work_.

Gale witnessed a SandWing shooting fire straight at a MudWing's chest, but he still remained unharmed. The MudWing gave a mighty whack with one of his muscular arms, and the SandWing nearly fell out of the sky. The RainWings were also spitting venom too... but the venom slid right off the slick, shiny armor like droplets of black rain. Her allies tried to score their claws down their enemies' sides, but doing that earned them cracked claws. To the enemies, it did nothing but a shallow scratch. A few dragons got lucky hits that went under the armor, but that still wasn't enough. Their side was losing nearly twice the numbers of the enemy.

"We're losing," Gale heard someone whisper next to her.

"Incoming," Courage called out a warning.

"Incoming! Incoming!" the invisible RainWing squalled like a macaw, louder than Courage. "SkyWings!" Immediately the dragons on the ground turned around, readying their talons. Twelve SkyWings were coming their way.

Gale saw the SkyWings drawing breath in for fire. As they swooped down low and blasted it, the dragons below scattered like panicking ants. Courage flew behind the distracted SkyWings then threw his own fire at them. It had little effect, so instead, Courage slammed into one of the SkyWings and knocked him unconscious. Unfortunately, when his arm had connected with the SkyWing's head armor, he had hurt his arm too. The NightWing quickly dodged his enemies' attacks, which were mainly used with fire.

Gale gazed up in wonderment. _I didn't know he was_ that _good of a fighter_ , she thought. _Maybe it's because he can read their minds._ Just after Gale had finished that thought, A blast of fire caught Courage on his left hind leg. He immediately descended to the ground, landing clumsily. It was then that four of the SkyWings fell on the NightWing, while the others landed down to fight the grounded Flawed.

"Prepare yourselves!" Zephyr shouted, then charged at them with a mighty roar. Gale pelted after her leader, hearing the thumping of talons from her fellow dragons. A couple of the enemy took of to do aerial attacks from the sky. One of them targeted Gale. With a battle cry, he plummeted from the sky like a falcon. Gale met his cry with a high-pitched roar that sounded more like a shriek. Inside, she felt jittery and fearful. _CALM DOWN_ , she silently told herself. _In, out. In, out._ She waited until the last moment to leap away, but her timing was a little too late. She did manage to dodge the other SkyWing's attack, but he had scraped a shallow scratch on her side. The SkyWing lay there crumpled, dazed by the impact.

Without hesitating, Gale leaped onto her attacker and tried to find a way under his armor. She found one underneath his neck armor, forcing her talons down until she felt flesh rip. Her opponent roared in pain and bucked her off. As Gale slid off onto the ground and staggered back up on her feet, she stared at the glistening blood on her talons, starting to feel a little ill. Taking her hesitation as an advantage, the SkyWing leaped at her and slashed at her left side.

Bright, hot, pain instantly raged through her body, and she hissed through her teeth as she tried to ignore the wound and slid under her attacker, slicing his belly. He staggered back, blood forming a pool underneath him. Gale swung her talons up to his head to deliver a strong attack, but he suddenly buffeted her with his mighty wings. Gale fell back with a cry of surprise.

He loomed over her, rage flaring in his eyes as Gale stared in terror. _It's over, for real this time…_ she gazed at the battles around her. We're _losing. Is this how it will end? Us dying?_

* * *

Torrid had watched the opposing armies clash. "Come on, Queen Ecru, you can do it… show them who's stronger!" she hissed under her breath, tugging at the wires.

Barren didn't even seem excited watching the battle. He was staring in the distance with blank eyes.

Some NightWing roared to her right, trying to struggle free of his wires. It seemed to affect others, too, as they tried to escape.

A familiar SkyWing flew over, accompanied with a mix of NightWings, RainWings, and SandWings.

"Hey, hey, we're here to free y'all," the lead SkyWing announced, waving his talons around.

"Aren't _you_ on that SkyWing tyrant's side?" Torrid hissed, her obsidian eyes glinting.

"Me, Harrier? Oh, not anymore," he said merrily, unclipping her wires as she stared at him. "C'mon, you look like a slack-jawed scavenger who just saw a mountain-sized dragon. Coming to help free the others?" Torrid snapped out of her shock and Harrier quickly taught her how to free the gladiators.

In a matter of minutes, every dragon was free. A small colorful bundle flew right in Torrid, knocking her down.

"Torrid! Torrid!" Quetzal hugged her. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"...Yeah." Torrid hugged him back. "I'm going to go help the others. You stay here, okay?" As she started to take off, Quetzal stubbornly clung to her.

"No!'" he yelled. "I'm going with you."

Inside, Torrid felt warm that he was trying to be brave. "Okay, but you'll have to be careful."

Quetzal nodded then detached himself. When Torrid looked back for Barren, he was gone.

* * *

After gauging a hole through a mass of enemies, Topaz burst through and flew black to the palace. Doombringer was at the pavilion.

"What are you doing up here?" the queen snarled. "You should be down there, killing them off like what you did last time with the SandWings."

"I'm sorry." Doombringer shook his head. "I can't use whatever power I want. I can enchant armor, and that's a lot safer than granting everyone here invincible sca-uh, I mean, It'll corrupt my soul if I try something more than enchanted armor."

"Who cares!" Topaz snapped.

"But without a soul, I won't be able to follow your orders anymore," Doombringer noted thoughtfully.

"You're useless," she finally concluded, turning down to the battle. "But I don't need you anymore. They're losing anyways."

"Yes, and because of that, you do not even need my magic anymore," Doombringer agreed. "There's no hope for them."

"And did you _mention_ something about invincible scales?" Topaz's eyes gleamed greedily. "You cut that off. Was there something wrong with that?"

"Granting invincible scales would be great, I thought, but I forgot that I can only enchant objects," Doombringer put in slyly. "Apologies about that."

"Well then, how about enchanting an object?" she questioned.

Doombringer looked thoughtful. "Yes, yes, that'll do. What object would you like?"

"This necklace here," Topaz handed the NightWing a heavy gold necklace studded with blood-red rubies.

Doombringer put his talons onto the jewelry, and whispered, " _I enchant this necklace to let any dragon who wears this become invincible to any attack, regardless of how powerful it is, and never harmed in any way._ "

He gave it back to the SkyWing queen. "There, done."

"That's it?" the queen put the necklace on. She tested it, stabbing her own talons at her arm. Her claws bounced off without doing any harm.

"I can only do this to one dragon," Doombringer said darkly. "It might be a few more spells before I lose my soul. I find it harder and harder to maintain my calmness around you."

"Whatever spells you casted while you were in the NightWing tribe must have been a big deal," Topaz growled.

Doombringer shrugged. "Queen Victorious well knows what I did to her tribe."


	20. In the Midst of Battle!

**I know. It's been a while since I updated! Every chapter gets harder and harder to finish, but hang on out there, this story ain't ending just yet!**

* * *

Courage shouldered the SkyWing above Gale, pushing him off her. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Yes," Gale was still a little shaken.

"Here," Courage handed her a spear. "This should be useful. Do you know how to use one?"

"Typhoon taught me a little," Gale replied. "I think I'll know how to handle it."

"If you need me, you can call for help," Courage said to her, then turned around to intercept another SkyWing.

Gale looked up and saw a few released prisoners joining the battle. It added numbers to their side, but the dragons were still weak and exhausted from their time as SkyWing prisoners. A SandWing flew down to them, accompanied with a smaller RainWing.

"You need any help?" she panted. "Do you guys…" The SandWing paused for a moment to stare at the Flawed, noting how strange they looked. "...uh, want help?"

"Any would do, thank you," Gale gripped her spear in her talons, having a feeling it was taken from a fallen SkyWing soldier. She'd used them before.

"Torrid!" The RainWing tugged at her arm. "Do you think we should go?" There were ripples of colors of anxiety across his scales as he looked up at the sky.

"Quetzal," Torrid said reassuringly. "I'll be okay."

Before the RainWing could reply, eight MudWings landed onto the ground with heavy thumps. They seemed to be breathing heavily; Gale guessed they couldn't keep on hovering around in the sky. Most likely they used up their fire, too, otherwise they would be already bombarding the Flawed. Just when Torrid opened her mouth to say something, there were surprised shouts behind them. Gale turned around to see that some SkyWings had sneaked in behind the Flawed, attacking the rear. Gale pushed to the front in order to help.

Being in the front lines was terrifying. Still, the wingless SkyWing fought on, urged and encouraged by the Flawless. There was a mighty roar to the left of her, and she turned to see that Kunzite, one of the few who dove down to help the grounded Flawed. The hybrid dragon was screaming in fury, unleashing a dangerous force or teeth, frostbreath, and claws.

 _Frostbreath…_ Gale suddenly realized something. _Frostbreath works?_ That thought never occurred to Gale. She thought that the armor was enchanted to resist any attack, but apparently only against physical and fire. Whenever the frostbreath touched the armor, if it was held there long enough, the armor would break and fall part. This would expose the scales underneath, enabling for the other dragons to injure their enemies more efficiently. Whatever that NightWIng animus was, Doombringer, might've not thought that IceWings would join the battle. She remembered that they had refused to fight, or at least the IceWing queen did.

 _That's our Kunzite!_ Gale scrambled over to help. Kunzite was fighting a SkyWIng and a MudWing, blasting ice in the MudWing's face while her whip-thin tail snaked around the SkyWing's front legs and tripped him up.

A SkyWing rose above Kunzite from behind, ready to dive bomb her.

"Kunzite! Watch out!" Gale cried, but her voice was swallowed by the screams and roars of battle. Kunzite saw that a shadow had fallen around her, but when she turned around, it was too late.

Kunzite's assailant hit her as he buffeted her with his huge wings. Kunzite let out a pained scream as the other two dragons in front of her dug their talons into her scales, and she went down.

"Kunzite!" Gale tried to yell over the chaos. She stumbled over someone's head and her talons slipped on something wet. When she looked down, she had to look away immediately, and nearly heaved. Cyclone was sprawled out under her, his one eye rolled into his head, claws twitching even after death. A pool of dark blood had formed from the fatal bite on his neck, flowing out like a river. She had slipped on _his_ blood.

"Cyclone…" Gale whispered, feeling her heart twist painfully. Why did this have to happen? She had only seen him a few times, and yet…

Just then, out of nowhere, a MudWing bowled her over and pinned her down. Gale jolted out of her shock, trying to use both her spear like a shield to prevent her attacker from going straight for her throat. _MudWings are really strong_ , she thought hazily. _He's only using his head to try to get to me, and I'm using nearly all my strength._ She briefly looked up at the sky. More enemies had noticed the small force on the ground, and were coming down to attack them.

The MudWing growled lowly and pushed his head down more. Gale fought for her life, literally hearing the clear snaps of teeth as the MudWing tried to bite her throat.

"Courage!" she cried weakly. Gale briefly glanced past her enemy, and saw that the NightWing was trying to get to her. He was too busy, trying fighting off two SkyWings at once.

The MudWIng's teeth clacked dangerously, just a clawtip from her throat. She could hear him _panting_. Nobody was going to save her, because she couldn't. Briefly, she had her near-deaths. There were so many that it was quite unreal. Every time, someone saved her from death. She was only a dragonet back then, still a dragonet now, but near adult. _I'll save mine now, I've been also so weak. Despite being able to volunteer to fight, most of the time I can't ever gain the upper talon in battle. So weak, too weak!_ Gale clenched her teeth as she pushed back, the MudWing surprised by her sudden energy. He used both of his wings and one leg to pin her back legs down. He had his front talons free. Her attacker easily overpowered her arms with his, and he was winning again

Gale had to think fast, and switch tactics. Even if fire did not hurt the MudWing, she could use it as a distraction. _By the moons, why didn't I think of that earlier?_ She drew her breath in, and with a struggle to draw her breath in, she released her power.

As expected, the MudWing instinctively jumped back, letting her go. He had forgotten that he had the fireproof armor on him. Gale took this to her advantage and slithered away, leaving her would-be killer bewildered on where she'd gone.

"Kunzite!" she shouted over the fray. She saw a glimmer of white and gold, stained with blue blood. Sulfur, another two of the Flawed, and, to Gale's surprise, Hoatzin, were standing over the limp body of Kunzite, snarling ferociously at any enemy who came near.

"Is Kunzite okay?" Gale hurried over, then gasped as as her legs buckled. Sulfur caught her before she fell.

"You're very _not_ okay yourself, Gale," Hoatzin remarked wryly. "Go on, rest a little while we protect you."

"Oh, you're the wingless one from earlier," one of the Flawed dragons, a dragon with a missing half-tail, glanced at Gale, and she shot a disapproving glance at Hoatzin. Gale nodded, crawling closer to Kunzite. The deep wound on her left side was throbbing, but she was more worried about Kunzie. She wasn't even moving. Many scratches covered Kunzite, and blue blood was seeping out.

"I'm sorry," a voice breathed next to Gale. She turned her head around to see Courage. He was bleeding from a clawmark on his snout, as well as a few more scratches on his back. He had his head bowed down. "I couldn't get to you to help."

"It's okay, Courage," Gale said, trying to staunch some of the wounds on Kunzite. "You don't have to always protect me. I can protect you, too."

"We'll protect each other, then," Courage promised. "We won't let the other die."

"Sappy," Hoatzin, who managed to fend off another SkyWing, smirked. Courage just gave him a slow stare, as if thinking what to say back to the rude RainWing.

Gale sighed. If she was not so battle-worn, she would have blushed. "Hey, um… it's not like that-"

"Hoatzin!" Sulfur barked. "We do not need distractions." Hoatzin shrugged and leaped on top of a MudWing, .pummeling his wings on his enemy fiercely despite his small and slender RainWIng size.

"There are too many," Gale said to Courage as two SkyWings rose up and faced off with them.

"Yes, too many," Sulfur growled.

"I'm sorry I can't protect all of you," Hoatzin pretend-wailed. Contrary to what he just acted like, he dodged his enemy's attacks and returned them viciously.

"I didn't know that tiny RainWing had that much fight in him," Sulfur commented.

Gale didn't reply back, too focused on trying to fight. She tried her best to avoid her enemies' attacks, but her wound slowed her down. They found themselves surrounded again, and formed a circle with claws and teeth facing out.

"Gale," Sulfur ordered. "Get behind us and protect Kunzite." The wingless dragon felt a small twinge of annoyance, but she obeyed and checked on her friend, once again trying to stop her blood from flowing out. It felt so wrong to have sticky blue blood on her talons that were her friend's. _If I don't help her,_ she thought, _She'll die._ At this point she was too scared to feel sick.

But what about the other dragons on their side? Surely Kunzite _wasn't_ an exception and shouldn't be. She knew that there were dragons on their side that were in more grave danger. But, for now, she focused on staying here. If she broke away, from the circle and got separated, she would be almost instantly killed in the sea of enemies.

Suddenly Kunzite coughed weakly, blood running out of her mouth. She winced. "...Gale…?"

"Yes, it's me," Gale was relieved that Kunzite was still alive. "Try not to talk. You're… losing blood."

"How dare… I look so undignified… three moons… _beaten_ …" Kunzite's words turned to a snarl but she cut off abruptly, wheezing. More blood dribbled out the corner of her mouth.

"Please, try to keep still. We'll get out of this mess."

"Yeah… right… go… check on... others… if they… okay…" the hybrid dragon didn't have any strength to say anything else.

"Hang on there, keep alive, okay, Kunzite?" Gale murmured to her friend. She was reluctant to withdraw from her friend as she checked on how the others were faring. They were not doing so well. Sulfur was panting hard, looking up at his sky bombing enemies. Hoatzin had taken to the sky, but it was as dangerous as the ground. Courage was struggling on the ground, thrashing this way and that as he tried to push a strong MudWing off him. The MudWing held tight, chomping down onto one of his wings.

Courage was in the most danger. "I'm coming!" she yelled. _This time I'll make it in time_ , she vowed as she dove past enemy and ally. _I_ will _make it!_

Gale hurtled towards her beloved friend, roaring. The MudWing turned to look, confused to see a small wingless SkyWing of what seemed like a dragonet running at him. He opened his mouth and shot a burst of fire at Gale. She leaped nimbly through the air, sailing above the flames. Her scales glinted in the firelight, making her almost look like she was ablaze, with the color of her scales.

The wingless dragon landed on the MudWing, whacking at his head furiously with her spear. Any other tribe dragon would be most likely knocked out with her ferocity, but the MudWing was tough. He shook his head, then wrenched her off his back.

The MudWing didn't notice Courage slip out of his grip. The NightWing managed to find a way between the plates of metal armor on his thick neck. He thrust his claws in, and the MudWing abruptly stopped. His eyes rolled into his head, and he fell over on his side, dead.

As Gale looked on with wide eyes, Courage looked on, a hint of regret in his eyes. "It can't be helped. Dragons drop like flies in a battle like this."

"I know it isn't your fault, but still… they're… they're all dying… all of us..." Gale trailed off.

Courage lifted her chin with a talon so that she could look at him. "'Gale, I might have died if you didn't save me," he whispered. "Thank you. You protected me."

Gale lowered her spear and clasped his talons tightly, staring straight into his silver-gold eyes. "Tell me you won't die."

The NightWing smiled. "I won't. I promise."

"You lovestruck idiots!" a voice yelled. "Stop mooning into each other's eyes like the sappy pair you are! It's not like this is suntime! What are your brains made of, avocados? BY THE MOONS, there's another squadron of SkyWing coming over! WATCH OUT!"

"Say that in a _nicer_ way to your allies, Hoatzin!" Sulfur snapped. "Courage, Gale, although Hoatzin was rude, he is right. There is no time for any sort of romance, whatever is going between you two. There are other dragons to protect, not just the two of you."

 _He_ is _right,_ Gale thought guiltily. _Self-centered, right? We're just thinking about each other, and only us._ She clenched her spear. _Right. I cannot allow myself to be distracted._ From the look in Courage's eyes, he had the same thoughts.

"INCOMING!" the invisible RainWing lookout whom Gale had not recognized yet squalled out another warning. "BEHIND US! A TRAP!"  
Gale whipped around, heeding the RainWing's warning. It seemed like she was too late. The SkyWings at the rear end of the Flawed were already attacking, breaking up the group.

"We can't go like this!" she heard the distant roar of Zephyr somewhere. "Stay together in a group! Don't let them separate you! If so, you are as well as dead!"

"Gale!" she heard Courage scream. "Behind you!" She hadn't heard him sound so high-pitched before. Was he scared? This thought passed over her head as she looked at behind her.

The next thing she knew, she was laying on the ground, feeling a warm sensation pour over her back and down onto the ground. Her weapon had clattered away, just nearly within reach but not quite. Suddenly she didn't have the energy to move; she could barely twist her head to look at what hit her. A big SkyWing was looming over her…

She felt teeth close over her neck, but then that was wrenched away. A pale gold SkyWing was battering her attacker with his wings, all the while shrieking angrily.

 _...Beryl?_

Never had she seen him in such a state. He was always laughing, smiling, and joking, the funny one of the group. Did he really have a fierce side? Beryl's eyes were blazing differently, one with ferocious determination. "Get your claws off Gale!" he shouted.

The SkyWing was taken by surprise at first, but now he recovered. Swiftly, he dodged a headbutt from Beryl and stunned him with a whack of his tail. The SkyWing flipped Beryl on his back and ripped his claws from Beryl's exposed belly up to his throat before he even had a chance to react.

* * *

 **I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers. XD**


	21. Shifting Tides

**I am back! Another chapter! Yay, I managed! (Also, I updated the summary. Hopefully this one is better than the last one.)**

* * *

"Beryl!" Gale heard herself scream. She struggled up to her talons, grabbing her spear to lunge at her opponent. The SkyWing turned around and picked up his own spear, then blocked her attack.

Eventually the bigger SkyWing overpowered Gale, pushing down with his spear. It was then that Courage had managed to push past the mass of dragons and bowled over her attacker. Moments later Zephyr appeared and helped Courage drive him away.

"Take care of yourselves," Zephyr advised to both Gale and Courage. "Don't try to get in a fight that may cost your life. I need to check on the others." Before any of them could respond, he had already gone as fast as he came.

A cough came behind them. Gale turned around and crouched down front of Beryl, who was in a collapsed heap.

With one glance at the gaping red gash in Beryl's belly, Gale could tell that he was beyond help. She couldn't say anything. Nothing came out of her mouth.

"You know that he can't be saved," Courage murmured next to her. Gale gently clasped Beryl's talons, trying to ease his pain a little.

"There's a MudWing coming," she heard Courage report, but his voice was distant. She was paying attention to Beryl, who was gasping faintly. He blinked rapidly as his eyes unfocused and focused on Gale.

"G… ale…" that was all the SkyWing could manage before he started struggling for breath. He mouthed something to Gale. _You belong together._

Gale blinked. Beryl tried to grin, but didn't have the strength to.

"Gale. Gale!" the wingless SkyWing jerked up to see Courage tapping her shoulder. "Snap out of it, please. You have to fight!" That was when the MudWing Courage warned about earlier charged at them. Both friends dived opposite ways, confusing the MudWing as he skidded to a stop.

Two of the Flawed and one SandWing jumped onto the MudWing, pinning him down as he tried to fling them off.

The SandWing nodded to Gale and Courage, her black eyes glinting. "Go help the others," she growled.

"Javelina!" one of the Flawed dragons yelled. "You need to help!" The SandWing turned back, helping her allies.

"Let's go," Courage said. He glanced at Beryl, then touched his now-still side briefly with his nose. "There's nothing else we can do for Beryl." Gale looked away. _You belong together._ Beryl's words echoed inside her head. _You belong together. You belong together._ She tried to shake the thought from her head as she focused on the battle.

"A… alright," Gale managed to choke out, attempting to push down her shock.

There were sudden roars in the sky. Gale and Courage looked up. These roars sounded they came from new arrivals, not from the battle-worn dragons here. In the darkening sky, there were glimmers of white.

"No way… IceWings," Gale breathed. The IceWing army advanced. RainWings, SkyWings, NightWings, and MudWings all looked on warily, not sure why the IceWings were here. It was then that a big SkyWing came winging down from the SkyWing pavilion, not intimidated at all as she stopped right in front of the head IceWing.

"So you did come, after all, Aurora," Topaz said with a smirk. "What made you decide? I thought you decided not to help the SandWings."

Some of the SandWings turned to eye the IceWing queen distrustfully.

"That's not the point," Queen Aurora said icily. "The queen of the SeaWings, Ripple, decided to give me the treasure. She's a coward, even though she agreed to 'help' dethrone you. That so-called queen wouldn't even show her face here."

Topaz leered. "For once, I do agree with you. We are not on the same sides, yes?"

"Enough talk!" Aurora bellowed, blasting her frostbreath at Topaz. The SkyWing dodged it, and chaos erupted again as the other IceWing charged in to intercept the SkyWings and MudWings.

"Out enemy has no enchanted protection against frostbreath," Harrier suddenly said thoughtfully out of nowhere.

Gale nearly jumped. "Um, where exactly did you come from?"

"I helped undo what I did wrong," Harrier shrugged like as if it was no big deal. "You know, free the prisoners? You know, heroic deed?"

Torrid, who was nearby, looked on confusedly at Harrier. "Why would you capture us only to free again?" Quetzal, the little RainWing holding onto Torrid's leg nodded in agreement.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I changed my mind. Now the question is, when is that animus going to reveal himself?"

"Animus?" Courage made his way next to Gale, glancing around to see if there were any more enemies coming up to them. "Oh. _Him._ Judging by who he is, Doombringer will come out soon."

"By now, Doombringer most definitely knows about the IceWIngs," Harrier mused. "Why isn't he coming out to enchant the armor to be immune to frostbreath? He's up to something, that's for sure."

"Maybe he's not up to anything," Gale suggested. "Perhaps he doesn't care anymore." She suddenly noted that Kunzite was gone. "Where's Kunzite?"

"Kunzite was carried to a safe place by Sulfur and Quetzal," Courage assured the wingless SkyWing.

"Alright-" Gale cut herself off as she leaned on Courage, feeling a little dizzy.

"You lost some blood," Torrid said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"You all lost some blood too," Gale almost snapped, not feeling so good. "Stop worrying about me. Worry about yourselves... your lives are in danger, too."

"You're right," Harrier said. "We got to end this battle before we all die dramatically of loss of blood. And the possibility of being written down in history of great heroes who died in battle defending all of Pyrrhia."

"That's not funny, if that's what you are aiming for.." Torrids sounded irritated. "You won't die of loss of blood. You've got barely anything but a scratch on your tail."

"Let's just stop arguing," Courage said, pointing his snout to the sky, where the most battles were happening now. "We need to help. Or, if you're too injured, you can always hide."

"I will go help," Gale volunteered. There was no need for answers from the other dragons as they showed that they were ready.

"According to the condition of this battle, it seems like that we are most likely to win," Harrier checked on the battle. "However, the tables can turn anytime if Doombringer comes out and personally decides to join in the fight. The battle, overall, is quite unpredictable, so I do recommend that we go and destroy my sister first. That way with no current queen, the SkyWings will be disorganized."

Gale gulped a little. "Destroy?"

"Yep," Harrier nodded. "If she isn't killed, the war will not end with her alie. I, of course, won't be the one to kill her."

"I think I should bring Quetzal to a safer spot," Torrid interrupted.

Quetzal tilted his head. "Okay. But if things get bad I want to join!"

"Alright, good luck," Gale told the pair as they lifted off. "So… how exactly are we going to… kill the queen?"

"Look," Courage growled. "Not too far at the front, that SkyWing queen is going down to the ground."

"Why?" Gale asked, suddenly curious.

"Ah, my queenly sister wants a taste of revenge," Harrier explained. "You call yourselves the Flawed, yes? Your group did manage to escape my queenly sister. They were meant to be all dead anyways. There's a battle, so she may have already had her fill for blood for the ones that can fly. Now, she wants to come down to the grounded Flawed and unleash her brutality on them. Doesn't it make sense, to be equal? If you attack the ones able to fly, shouldn't the grounded ones have their share of misery too? Quite fair, I say. Not one side gets more misery than the other."

"...An interestingly complicated way to explain the reason for Topaz to come down here," Courage commented. "Come on, let's sneak up to her. That may work."

"And why is she wearing jewelry in battle?" Gale questioned. "She's wearing a heavy necklace that'll slow her down."

"No scratches," Harrier observed. "Bye Gale and Courage! I'd better spread my genius plan to everyone else."

"Wait, what genius plan?" Gale called as Harrier hopped away.

Harrier turned around to them and said something, but even when Gale strained to hear him, she could only hear the sounds of battle. Harrier vanished into a mass of dragons before she could go after him.

"ZEPHYR!" a powerful voice bellowed. "COME FIGHT ME LOWLY CREATURE! YOU DARED DEFY YOUR QUEEN!"

"Topaz?" Courage muttered. Another form burst away from the Flawed, and cries of shock came after him.

"Zephyr!"

"Stay with us!"  
"What are you doing?"

"Don't! She's dangerous!"

Zephyr, to Gale's disbelief, ignored all of the Flawed's words. He had an unusual light in his eyes, something she had never seen in him before. He was usually almost always calm, understanding, and wise. This was not a side she had seen in him before. _It's almost like that time I crushed the pineapple… he's not himself._

Gale turned her head to Topaz. The queen looked terrifying, her snout twisted into a snarl, smoke billowing from the corners of her mouth. _Didn't she say… he defied her? Yes, Kunzite said before that the queen had taken his right wing for punishment of defending a flawed dragon._

The leader of the Flawed and the queen of the SkyWing faced each other off. Zephyr, who was smaller than Topaz, reared up on his hind legs to make himself look bigger. However, he wa unable to flare his only wing, as it would throw him off balance.

"Deformed, useless, lizard!" Topaz roared. "I will rip your remaining wing off! I should have finished you those years before, and the rest of your _infectious_ colony."

"Not unless I kill you first," Zephyr roared back.

"My, my, what a standoff." Harrier hovered above them.

"Turncoat," Topaz simply said to Harrier, not even glancing at her brother. "I will finish you off once I finish Zephyr." Zephyr rushed Topaz, and she released a blast of fire at him. Expecting that, Zephyr nimbly dodged and raked her side. However, he paused for a moment to examine his talons, puzzled at something.

 _This is no time to be confused!_ Gale wanted to scream as Topaz stole that moment to whack Zephyr's head with her tail.

"Look," Courage pointed out to Gale. "It's like as if Zephyr never scratched her." Gale nodded. Zephyr had already shaken off Topaz's tail whack and had stabbed his claws downwards, aiming for Topaz's shoulder. Gale's grip on her spear loosened as she watched her leader's talons bounce right off his enemy's scales.

Zephyr stepped back, about to say something, when Topaz pounced on him. Courage suddenly jumped forwards and let out a roar of fire at Topaz. She ducked instinctively, but the flames enveloped her wings. When the smoke cleared, there was no burn whatsoever on her.

"She's invincible," Gale heard Courage mutter as Topaz returned the fiery NightWing rolled out of the way just in time.

"Stay out of this, NightWing," she hissed. "This is none of your business. I have a traitor to take care of."

A shove from behind startled Gale. She dodged an incoming swipe, and came face-to-face with an… IceWing. The white dragon shot a cold stream of frostbreath at her. Gale narrowly avoided it, feeling her part of her scales go numb. The frostbreath, luckily, didn't hit her, but it did come very close.

"Why?" Gale gasped. "I thought you came to help us!"

He was snarling, claws flexing, ready to slash her. His blue eyes told her otherwise. _What… just what is going on here!?_ His eyes were pleading, regretful. He seemed to be trying to hold himself back from attacking, but he failed and leaped again, pinning down Gale. She clenched her teeth to stop from screaming as his serrated claws dug into her shoulders.

Gale was thoroughly confused as she managed to slither out of the IceWing's grip. Another SkyWing, a Flawed, leaped in to help Gale. She pinned him down and knocked him out instead of killing him.

"Thanks," Gale panted.

The SkyWing nodded back to her. "No problem, Gale. It's Gust, if you remember."

"Gust… that's right," Gale echoed. She didn't recognize this bloodied SkyWing at first, but now that she looked closer, she remembered it as the SkyWing mother who had escaped from the clutches of Topaz, along with her blind dragonet, Mistral.

"Wouldn't Mistral be worried about you?" Gale asked.

"If I don't fight, we'll all die anyways if Topaz manages to take over," Gust reasoned. "Do you know what's going on with that IceWing?"

Gale shook her head, but the paused for a moment to survey the battle. She did notice some… other oddities going on. Some of their allies had turned traitors. Yells of disbelief came from the attacked as they were forced to fight their own comrades.

"...Look," Gale said to Gust, pointing to the back of the enemy's troops. She had spotted a figure in the back, a black NightWing with purple wings. He was barely visible in the evening, his movement betraying him as he flapped his wings to keep in the air.

"He's the one," Gust breathed. "I've seen him several times before… heard rumors that he was an animus."

"Doombringer is an animus," Gale concluded. "I think… I think he's somehow controlling our, um, friends."

"Sorry I couldn't come in time." Courage pushed his way to Gale and Gust.

Gale turned to the NightWing, lighting up a little. "No need to apologize, Courage. How's the fight with Queen Topaz?"

"I saw the IceWing on you," Courage answered. "I don't know what… happened to Zephyr… I had to pick between the two, and I chose you. He was faring better, too."

If Gale wasn't in the middle of battle, she would've smiled. "Who knows what Doombringer can do next. He's dangerous."

"So Doombringer or Topaz?" Gust questioned.

"I suggest you take out my queenly sister first," Harrier appeared out of nowhere _again_ , hovering above them. "But then if you think about it, that necklace will keep her from being harmed in any way. So, Doombringer. He's the source of all this enchantment. But wait, my queenly sister! She's the queen bee of them all, kill her and her troops become chaotic and confused. Hmm… what would Doombringer do, though? Maybe kill him instead. That NightWing is quite the trump card. Killing him will prevent Doombringer from casting any more dangerous spells…" Harrier's voice drifted away as he darted to the next dragon.

"I've never seen Harrier so unsure in his life," Gust remarked, though worriedly. "He has been always the factual dragon."

 _So which one? Queen Topaz or the animus Doombringer?_ Gale gripped her spear tightly. _We'll die…That's right. They're all fighting each other. What if..._ Gale didn't want to believe it. _Doombringer's playing with us. If he can control dragons, he can do nearly anything! And with that… he could have won this war ages ago. Just what is he thinking?!_

"...Gale?" Courage was blinking at her, placing his talons on her trembling arms. Suddenly something reared behind her, and without thinking, Courage acted as her shueld.

There was a _thump_ as the brave NightWing fell, slashed in an x-like style across his chest. It was a SandWing.

"I'm sorry," the SandWing managed to choke out before lunging at Gale, unable to stop himself.

Gust tugged him back, holding on firm to his venomous tail. "Gale! Now!"  
The wingless SkyWing stood there, staring at her spear.' "You want me to… kill him?"

"Kill me, knocking out will take too long!" the SandWIng rasped, struggling to restrain himself. He failed to do so, and was slowly slipping out of the grip of Gust, reaching for her. Her couldn;'t say anything else as he was forced to suck in his breath, readying his fire.

"I-I can't!" Gale shouted. "It's not him! Doombringer's making him!"  
"Dragonet or not, you must be hard in combat!" Gust hissed. "It's kill or be killed, Gale! Make your choice now!" The SandWing's smoke was already curling around his horns. Gust couldn't stop him from breathing fire; she already had enough struggle with his thrashing tail.

Gale shut her eyes as she drove her spear down with all her might. There was a wet sound as the sharp weapon drove through flesh and bone. Feeling dizzy, Gale avoided looking at the still SandWing as she removed the spear that had been driven right through his head.

 _Ugh, I want to throw up_ , Gale couldn't help it but stare at the dark, glistening blood splattered on the spear. _Can't I be more useful than this?_

"What is done, is done," Courage croaked behind Gale. He staggered up to his talons, wheezing. He opened his mouth to say something when Gale interrupted him.

"Don't start saying you'll protect me," Gale began. "Remember what we said? We'll protect each other. And if you keep on acting like a meat shield in front of me, you won't last long." She managed to give a brief smile. "Alright?"

Courage sighed, then crouched down, trying to stanch his own wound. "Alright."

"Here, I'll help," Gust rushed over to the NightWing. Gale hoped that no other dragon would notice them as she looked for Topaz and Doombringer. It seemed that most dragons were engaged with each other, too caught up in fighting to notice the occasional dying and the wounded trying to crawl away.

"That's right!" Gale suddenly growled out loud. "Queen Topaz's necklace is removable. If we can somehow remove it, she's be exposed." _WHAT. Three moons. I might as well be as stupid as a cow._ A renewed determination surged within her. _Alright, spear, we need to take that necklace of Queen Topaz over there right now!_

Determination turned quickly to bewilderment as the spear suddenly pulled forwards with a powerful unseen force, pulling her protesting straight to Topaz.

Dragons turned to stare at her, wondering why a dragon was holding on to a flying spear. _...Huh? No. No no no. This can't be true. This_ can't _be. I should've known before…. What is this power I feel…?_

 _An animus's power._

* * *

 **WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?**


	22. Animus

The spear dragged Gale through the air, making a beeline straight for Topaz. She was squaring off with Zephyr again, both of them circling. Zephyr was battered, struggling for breath. Topaz, on the other talon had no signs of injuries of any sort. If the battle continued, it would be very obvious of who would win.

It never continued any further, as Topaz turned around just in time to see a dragonet hanging on for dear life on a spear that was heading for her.

"Doombringer!" Topaz roared. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The black form that was hovering behind the enemy ranks stopped flapping. With a poof, he teleported himself next to the SkyWing queen.

"This is not my doing, my queen." Doombringer dipped his head. "That dragonet, Your Majesty, appears to be another animus."

Gale collided with Topaz as the spear hooked itself underneath the heavy necklace and wrenched the adornment off her. Its job done, the weapon relaxed in Gale's talons. She steadied herself, the necklace dangling from her talons.

"That's _mine_!" Topaz screeched in rage and an enormous ball of fire came at the wingless dragon. Without thinking, Gale slipped the necklace over her head and threw her arms over her head. She felt the flames lick at her scales, as well as intense heat. However, the fire subsided and she looked at herself, amazed of the effect from the necklace.

Gale still couldn't comprehend everything that just happened, especially that she was an _animus_. She remembered the words she had thought: _Alright, spear, we need to take that necklace off Queen Topaz over there right now!_ It was intriguing to Gale that animuses could enchant with their minds.

"Not so fast," Zephyr snarled, making a great leap that let him land on Topaz.

"Doombringer!" Topaz shrieked. "Over here! Right now!"

The NightWing animus said nothing. He simply sat back and examined his glossy black scales."You brought this upon yourself… imposter." Then he smiled, a chilling smile that made Gale feel freeze when she stared at him.

Zephyr stared at the queen, struggling to hold her down. "Would you like to live under one condition?"

"And what is that?" Topaz hissed.

"To step down from the throne and surrender yourself," the one-winged dragon growled.

"I would _never_ do such a thing!"

"Very well." Zephyr raised his talons and sliced them across her throat. She only glared at him until the light died from her eyes and her head fell back.

The tyrant queen of the SkyWings was dead.

It took a while for the fighting dragons around to actually notice what happened. One by one, the enemy dragons broke away from their opponent to stare at Topaz's dead body.

Taking this advantage the Flawed, SandWings, IceWings, NightWings, and RainWings rounded their battered enemies up, surrounding them. Suddenly they didn't seem so big and fierce anymore.

Queen Cypress of the MudWings hunched her shoulders. "We surrender," she announced solemnly.

The other queens walked forwards. They glanced at each other, battle-worn, but none sustained fatal injuries.

"You sided with Topaz for what?" Queen Aurora hissed, her whip-thin tail swishing.

"My tribe would be endangered if I had not done so," Cypress defended herself. "Her animus threatened me that he would kill us all."

"It is understandable," Queen Ecru spoke up. "I would do the same to preserve my tribe."

As the queens talked, Gale gazed around the mountainous clearing. Bodies, as expected, were strewn everywhere. _So what now?_

"As for me, there is nothing else here. I must go," said a deep voice. Gale turned around, seeing that the queens had stopped talking and were looking at Doombringer.

"What are you going to do next, animus?" Ecru growled, remembering what he had done to her subjects.

The NightWing waggled a black talon. "Don't jump to conclusions, I know what you're thinking. I'm not going to slaughter all these dragons. I could do so right now, but I'm afraid I've already lost my mind using too much magic." He grinned. "You don't know how hard it is to hold back. Do you know how much I want to _kill_ you all?" Gale flinched.

The queens said nothing, except for one. Victorious threateningly flared her huge wings. "Then why not do so? If you sided with the SkyWings, why didn't you aid Topaz in her time of need?"

Doombringer sighed. "It was getting tiring with her ordering me around the whole time. But I do agree with her in one thing. War is fun!" Gale knew she shouldn't be shocked when she knew it from Topaz, but the wingless SkyWing felt a cold shiver. _How can he say that? Look what happened here!_

"I do enjoy battling," Victorious said slowly, "but not the kind that results in numerous deaths, like this one. What happened to you? You didn't act this way before."

"That doesn't matter anymore," Doombringer dismissed her questioning with a flick of his ear. "As long as I stay here, I endanger the whole of Pyrrhia. Even if this battle was entertaining, I am getting rather bored." He pumped his wings once and took off in the air. "Farewell, Victorious. I hope you will forgive for what I did. And, oh, Gale, enjoy that newfound animus power you have there." In a whirlwind of gust, Doombringer disappeared. The enchanted armor that were worn by the SkyWings and MudWings also disappeared.

The entire clearing was silent. Gale felt aware of herself, feeling hundreds of stares upon her. She shifted uncomfortably, occasionally catching snippets from whispers of conversation.

"Wingless dragon… wingless dragon…"

"Queen Victorious!" a NightWing shouted from the distance. He was winging towards his queen. "I found these SeaWings." There were six SeaWings behind the NightWing.

"Rather, we have come here to find _you_ ," a deep royal blue SeaWing huffed. She was not any bigger than her companions, but she wore heavy pearl necklaces that draped across her neck. A couple gold bracelets adorned her wrists.

"Queen Ripple of the SeaWings has arrived," one of the SeaWings announced majestically.

The SeaWing queen nearly rolled her eyes. "There's no need for that, Flood. You all are my bodyguards, and serve only for that purpose."

"Did you pay for us?" Ecru asked. "You must have heard what happened between Aurora's tribe and mine."

"Yes, I have," Ripple answered, landing to the ground along with her soldiers. "And I have come here to see how the battle had turned out."

"If you _really_ wanted to see what happened, why didn't you come here with your army?" Aurora growled as white smoke started to trail out of her mouth. Gale could see that she wanted to insult the SeaWing, but it would be spread Aurora's bad reputation even more if she did so.

"I was thinking for my tribe," Ripple replied back steadily. "I wanted to help in the war, but I did not want to lose any of my dragons. When I heard Aurora was only joining for the sake of treasure, I gave her the demanded amount." She looked at the SandWing queen, then added, "You're welcome, Ecru. No need to say thanks, tribes help each other out, don't they?"

Gale knew by reading Ecru's expression that she didn't like the way that Ripple had talked to her. It seemed that the SeaWing was nice-but cowardly, nevertheless, in the eyes of other dragons. Gale could see that Ripple had a different point of view for thinking of her tribe, even if it meant risking her reputation. However, she was obviously expecting a thanks from Ecru, as she had said "you're welcome" before Ecru could say anything else.

She didn't know exactly what to think of Ripple.

"I will be going," Aurora said curtly. She lifted off, and most of the IceWings came up wit her. A few glanced at each other reluctantly, some injured.

"We brought some RainWing healers in the rear of our army," Glamour called out to the IceWing queen. "The rest of us won't be coming back tonight. It's a long, hard journey for those who are injured."

Aurora hovered there for a while before turning away to lead her tribe back to their territory.

"It seems that she is very proud," Victorious remarked. "Ahd yes, you are right, queen Ecru. We will camp out for the night."

"Good luck to you all in the aftermath," Ripple said as a departing statement, then left with her bodyguards.

"That was quick," Ecru commented. "Now, before figuring anything else out, we must treat to the wounded."

The queens broke apart to take care of their own tribes, agreeing to stand watch over the leaderless SkyWings to make sure they didn't attack again. Not that the SkyWings wanted to do so. Without a queen, they were confused and disorganized.

Zephyr gathered his dragons, bringing up his three Flawed healers to set to work immediately. He ordered to the healers, "Treat the most wounded dragons."

Kunzite was one of the most badly wounded. Gale lay down on her right side, groaning as the wound on her left side from earlier throbbed.

"Are you okay?" Whirlwind limped over to her. He had a deep gash in his right leg, although it wasn't fatal.

"Does it look like it?" the wingless dragon hissed.

"Stop asking questions like that," her sister Typhoon came over with Whirlwind. "Where were you? I tried to find you, but it seems that we were separated in the battle."

Whirlwind tilted his head to the side, blinking at Gale. "What we just saw back there… you're an animus, right?"

"Shh, let's not worry about that yet," Typhoon told Whirlwind. "Right now, Gale's in pain." She winced, glancing at a scorch mark on her shoulder. "We all are."

Gale closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain. _Block out the pain in my wounds. It hurts so much._

The burning sensations disappeared in a heartbeat. _...hm?_ She opened her eyes and stared at her wounds oddly. They were still there, bleeding, but she didn't feel any pain, not even a tingle. _Uh-oh_. Gale had accidentally enchanted herself. _Again, be careful with those thoughts!_ She scolded herself silently. Then she realized she still had the necklace on and took it off, staring at it. _Who knows what talons this necklace can land in next. Better find a way to get rid of it._

Gale was still fascinated with how she had wounds, yet she experienced no pain. She sat up and poked lightly at the bleeding wound on her left side.

"Hey, don't do that!" Typhoon snapped, forcing her to lay down again. "Didn't you say that you weren't okay? Why are you poking at your wound like that? Three moons, if you don't lay down, you'll bleed to death!" _Well, I forgot they didn't know what I just accidentally enchanted._ Even if she didn't feel any pain, she felt increasingly dizzy and had to lay her head down to the ground.

"Hey Whirlwind… can you hold on to this necklace?" Gale asked faintly.

"Sure," Whirlwind bent down to take the necklace, hiding it in his talons. "No problem."

Eventually she couldn't think of anything at all, not even her newfound animus powers. The dizziness blocked out everything, and she lost consciousness.

* * *

 **Writer's block is catching up to me... ugh. WHat do you think about thi chapter? What's Doombringer up to?**


	23. 50 Miles Away

Gale woke up, feeling FABULOUS. She looked at her wounds and gasped. They were gone!

"Who did this?" she exclaimed.

Harrier came out of nowhere. "It was I who did so!" Then he flew away.  
"Really?" Gale tipped her head to the side, confused. "But I thought I somehow healed them with my animus powers in my dream…"

"Gale! You okay?" Courage came running up.

"What the hell in Pyrrhia… you shouldn't be running like that…"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. My wounds are healed!"  
 _Did he just call me sweetheart…?_ Gale thought, a bit creeped out. _That's supposed to be Beryl…_ then she remembered his death. _Oh no… Beryl…_

"I'M ALIVE!" some dragon screamed in the far distance.

"Who is _that_?" Courage said to no one in particular.

A familiar SkyWing came charging, making a beeline for Gale. He bowled her over and pinned her to the ground, panting. "Hi *pant* Gale *pant*"

"B-B-B-B-Beryl?" Gale stammered, her eyes wide. "H-How are you still alive?"

"Easy," Beryl grinned. "You brought me back to life." A chill crept over her scales. _What did I do? Am I becoming evil?_

Beryl leaned in close until both of their noses were nearly touching. "Gale…" he breathed.

"Uh… what's going on with you, Beryl?" Gale whispered, her heart rate speeding up. "You're… you're usually not this serious…"

"Thanks back there for saving me…. I nearly died, but somehow you closed my to-be fatal wound." His eyes were showing sincerness. "Thank you."

Gale blushed. "But… I'm afraid I'll turn… evil…"

"Don't worry, you won't as long as you have me," Beryl soothed.

"Are you… um… going to kiss me?" Gale blurted.

"If you want-"

"INCOMING! KUNZITE TO THE RESCUE! GET OUT OF THE WAY, BERYL, AAAAARGH!" A white-gold form barged into Beryl, sending him flying 50 miles away from Gale.

"Heeeeeeeelllppp…" Beryl was still calling until he was out of sight.

"Kunzite!" Gale got up.

"Just saving you from someone you _do not_ want to be with," Kunzite snorted. "Listen, to keep him away, you gotta use the force."

"The force?" Gale asked, confused.

"There's no need for all of this, Kunzite," Courage sighed. "Look, you know Beryl' just joking arouu-" Kunzite sent him flying 50 miles away from Gale too.

"Uh, Kunzite…"

"No worries now! They're both gone."

"Except for ME!" Topaz jumped out from her hiding spot, rawring.

"Topaz!" Kunzite growled. "What are you up to next?"

"Oooh, meheh, nothing in particular," the SkyWing queen said. "Hey, Imma live a new life now. Be nice and everything. Yay, double win-win for everyone!"

"What the hell in Pyrrhia AGIN?" Gale said verry iritated.

"Ye am i right?" topaz sqeeled.

"Y r we talking like dis?" Kunzite sssssssked.

"I dont know?"

"aPrIl FoOlS dAy?

* * *

 **I felt like writing something random, happy fooling for April Fool's Day!**


	24. Aftermath

**Yep. I know. It's been forever, right? I apologize yet again for the inconvenience I've caused you guys, but the finals came rolling in and... I kinda died on this story.**

 **Luckily I managed to cough up another chapter :D**

* * *

 _War cries rang out on each side as the first waves collided with each other, the formations crumpling as dragons from different tribes began battling. Gale was also part of the force. This battle was happening all over again. Except-this time, she was hovering in the air like the rest of her comrades, who had no flaws, either. Excitement surged through Gale._ I can really fly! _she thought. It felt natural even though she hadn't really had wings for her last year, her muscular wings beating strong and sure. She charged at the enemy. Roaring with fury, she mowed down her enemies like prey. Twisting nimbly midair and darting in to rake sides and to give vicious bites, she was a force to be reckoned with. She remembered, like her last dream, she was asbstrong and powerful._

 _Her last thought, however, was interrupted, as a SandWing bore down on her, stabbing with his tail. Gale hissed as his stinger-like tail sunk into her right palm. She narrowly blocked it from ripping into her heart. She had time to buy; she could still flame him to crisp. As she drew in her breath…_

 _...she stopped._

 _The SandWing she was gazing at was the one that she had killed in this battle._ I've killed him before. Why is he still alive? _Then she heard pained screams all at once, ringing the air that sent chills all over Gale's scales. She shivered. It was happening all over again, her friends and family were dying around her…_

 _Courage's cry was the loudest of them all, drowning all out. Gale covered her ears, pressing herself low to the ground._ Stop! Stop it! Stop! _Her panicky voice shrilled in her mind. But she couldn't mute it. No matter how much she blocked her ears from hearing, the screams pierced right through, sounds full of blood and bones and death and pain-_

Gale abruptly snapped awake, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. She could have sworn she saw a bloody darkness swirling above her in the morning sky, but after a while, it seemed to fade away. "Steady, steady, there Gale," she said out loud to herself in a shaky voice. She had to remind herself it was just a nightmare, nothing else but that. She had to forget, otherwise she would crumble under grief.

She noticed that her wounds were treated already. It was then a lone SkyWing was flying overhead.

"Hallo," Harrier alighted down to the ground. "You okay?" For some reason his lack of wounds irritated Gale.

"Yes, I am, thanks to whoever healed me," Gale said cautiously, still trying to shake off the last of her nightmare. "Is everyone else okay?"  
"Hm… Kunzite's still not able to talk, but she's getting better. Courage is okay, too, but he's currently sleeping, as you can see. Your siblings-Whirlwind and Typhoon-didn't gain any serious injuries. And-"

"You seem to know a lot of my friends," Gale interrupted quietly.

"Yes, I do. I'm quite the observer, you see. And just in case if you're wondering, I wasn't really fighting. I was helping the injured dragons out of danger."

"Aren't you…? Never mind," Gale said quickly. _He doesn't seem too concerned that I'm an animus._ Harrier shrugged then continued on his way.

"Hi, you're awake," Whirlwind chimed in suddenly, landing down in front of Gale. "Here. This is the invincibility necklace, I presume?" He handed the heavy necklace over to Gale.

"Thanks for keeping it safe." Gale held the necklace in her talons, wondering if there was a way to undo the enchantment on the jewelry.

So… you are an animus." Typhoon came up next to both of her siblings, settling in to make a triangular formation. "I never knew."

"I didn't know also," Gale admitted. "I never thought I would be… I guess I never found out because I don't order things around. I mean, that sounds silly."

"True," Whirlwind agreed.

"And now, it's over," Typhoon veered off the subject. "Topaz is dead." Gale had a feeling that Typhoon had detected that she was uncomfortable talking about her powers.

"That's the problem," Whirlwind cut in. "Topaz participated in the battle herself, not predicting that she might die. Zephyr killed her; he couldn't be possibly queen, since he's a male."

"No one challenged Queen-uh, Topaz in first place, but anyone was allowed to kill her," Gale pondered. "We were only aiming to dethrone her, but she refused, and that's why Zephyr killed her."

"Didn't you help, Gale?" Typhoon queried, tapping her sister's talons once. "You took that necklace off Topaz!"

"I don't really want to use any more of this power, however amazing it is," Gale said somberly. "What if I turn evil? Like… Doombringer?"

"I heard he was popular in his tribe, until he did something to harm his own tribe," Whirlwind informed. "Whatever it was, it must have been bad enough that their queen refuses to say how Doombringer betrayed her tribe. He might have been using too much of his magic. At least even now he realizes what happened to him, but who knows when he'll return."

"I don't know…" Gale said unsurely. "He might come back and do something. Is there a way to protect all these dragons from his enchantments?"

"I wouldn't want my sister to be corrupted," Typhoon cautioned. "That might also endanger you of becoming like that NightWing."

"All the others are starting to wake up," Whirlwind mentioned to his siblings.

"So did you know about your animus powers?" Zephyr limped through the crowd of resting dragons, avoiding stepping on their tails.

"Oh. Morning, Zephyr." Whirlwind rustled his wings, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"I kinda just found out yesterday," Gale mumbled. _Everyone else is probably going to ask me. Especially the queens. Uh oh. What am I supposed to say?_

Zephyr didn't press it any further, either. "I will go and have a meeting with the queens. There's no current queen, and no one clearly challenged her for the throne." He saw the look on their skeptical faces then added, "Don't worry, there's SkyWing representative that will go will me." He left before any dragon could say anything else.

It seemed like as though the meeting took hours as Gale waited, nervousness pricking under her scales. "To be honest, I think I see some dragons looking at me strangely."

"More like sneaking glances," Typhoon corrected wryly. "They are quite anxious, too,, of what would happen next."

A RainWing healer came by, stopping by the three siblings. "Hello, I'm here for a check-up. Do all of you feel alright? No aching muscles? Bothersome wounds?"

Gale's muscles were sore from the day before and she still felt weak. However, he simply shook her head and said, "Thank you, but I'm fine."

"Me too," Typhoon spoke up next.

"Me three," Whirlwind added in.

The healer scanned them up and down. "Well, if anything's bothering you, give a call and I or one of the other healers will come over."

"Alright," Gale mumbled.

* * *

Once the meeting broke up, the queens and SkyWing representatives broke up and came back to report to their dragons.

By this time afternoon had come by, and the tribes were helping each other by sending out hunters and bringing back food.

However, the SkyWing and MudWing tribes were more isolated than the others, only talking amongst themselves. Most of the SkyWings had already moved back to the palace, but they still seemed disoriented, as they had no queen yet. Some of the other dragons from the other tribes kept a wary distance from the SkyWings and MudWings, as they were once enemies with them. Even most stayed away from the Flawed, as they couldn't tell if some of the enemy SkyWings were mixed in. _As if_. Gale huffed silently. _We were once as much as enemies with them as they are with our allies._

"Gale," Typhoon tapped on her shoulder. "Courage and Kunzite are awake. Do you want to see them?"

Immediately Gale's tense atmosphere disintegrated. "Are they well?" she asked excitedly as she limped after Typhoon, nearly overdoing herself as she stumbled.

"Careful there, don't hobble too fast," Typhoon chuckled, catching her younger sister before she fell.

"Thanks. Where's Whirlwind?"

"Out hunting."

Once they found Kunzite and Courage, Gale gave a yelp of delight when she saw that they were fine. "Kunzite! Courage!"

Kunzite was still laying down on the ground; she didn't have that much energy to move around yet. She let out a feeble puff of frostbreath that was too weak to be harmful. "Hello there, friends."

Courage was sitting up next to Kunzite, crouching over a little. He usually didn't do that. The slashes across his chest had not completely healed over yet, but he looked relieved to see Gale.

Gale reached over and looped each of her arms around Kunzite's and Courage' necks, pulling them together in a gentle hug.

Then she forgot that Kunzite' scales were startlingly cold, but she ignored the chilling sensation. Courage didn't seem to mind, either.

"Hey, uh…" Typhoon coughed awkwardly behind them. A squealing boar suddenly smacked into Typhoon's face as it dropped out of nowhere. Whirlwind flew right into Typhoon and pushed her into the hug. The boar ran in confused circles until some other dragon casually picked it up and ate it.

"You don't haveta ask." Whirlwind gave a broad smile as he squashed her into the rest of their friends. "After all, we're all friends, right?"

 _Even if I'm an animus?_ Gale silently wondered. She hook her head. _No, they don't care about that right now. We safe. That's all that matters._

Kunzite wheezed. "Who's talons are pressing onto my back?" There was a moment of confused shuffling as the dragons broke up from each other's embraces and stepped away.

"Not meaning to be nosy, but weren't the IceWings here yesterday?" Whirlwind spoke up. "They must have known about you, Kunzite." Now that Gale's brother had said that, she remembered that back when she lived in the Flawed's temporary home, they didn't speak much about their past. _Neither did I._ Though, she was curious of how a half-IceWing like Kunzite ended up exiled, or something along those lines.

"Queen Aurora's quite merciful." Kunzite managed a smile. "She didn't try to hunt down my parents. You know, she let my family live in the Sky Kingdom."

"I wouldn't call that merciful," Typhoon interjected. "I would call that more of not caring at all, from the way you portray it."

"My mother was a low-ranking IceWing, anyways." Kunzite gave a slight shrug. "Nothing too important."

"All of the Flawed! I have something to say," came Zephyr's announcement. "Please gather around."

"I wonder what Zephyr's got in mind now," Kunzite muttered.

"Here, you can lean on my shoulder," Whirlwind offered.

Kunzite stood up, wobbled a little, and leaned onto Whirlwind. "Thanks."

"Go on," Courage prompted. "You are part of the Flawed." Gale nodded, then followed the rest of her friends.

After the rest of the Flawed had gathered, Zephyr cleared his throat. "Now, as you all know the SkyWing tribe has yet to have a queen to be selected… under this unusual circumstance." There were many nods and grunts of agreement from the Flawed.

"I wonder what the newly chosen queen is," Gale heard someone whisper next to her. She noticed that this dragon was Gust.

A small figure stepped up next to Zephyr, oddly familiar. Her face, front legs, and chest were wrapped in bandages. Beneath some of the folds of bandages on the newcomer's face, she thought she saw an oddly distorted face underneath that looked burnt. _Topaz…? No…_

"The majority of the tribe has decided who the next queen will be," Zephyr declared. "And that would be Queen Sunset."


	25. What Needs to be Done

**Yes, I have FINALLY submitted the last chapter! It didn't turn out as I expected. There were numerous possibilities going through my head of how to end the story. It was hard to wrap it up since at one point I had no idea what I was going to do. But I made it!**

* * *

Gale thought her heart had stopped as she stared at the familiar figure of a fiery orange SkyWing. Although looking wounded, she seemed confident as she drew herself up in pose of a more commanding manner.

"Sunset… Queen Sunset…" Courage murmured. "Although she appears small in size, her very presence shows that she is a leader."

"Really?" Gale pulled herself higher to look at Sunset. "Is she really my mother? Is she alive?" _Something has changed about her. Why does it feel like…_ "Gust, I thought you said she died."

Gust looked as perplexed as she was. "I thought-I heard her screams. I really never thought-" She broke off abruptly, rethinking what she said. "She really didn't die."

"MOTHER!" Typhoon shouted somewhere in the crowd. She burst out immediately and

Headed straight for Sunset. Instead of bowling her over, she halted mid-air and landed in front of her.

Gale felt a gentle nudge from behind and turned around to see Kunzite, now supporting herself without Whirlwind, slightly smiling. "Go on, meet up with your mother again," she encouraged

Gale started forwards, but she only took one step when she felt a swift wing brush next to her. Whirlwind whisked ahead of Gale.

"Wait for me!" Gale bounded past the parting crowd of dragons, finally coming up last to her mother. _Oh, Mother..._

"My little dragonets are still alive," Sunset whispered, touching noses with her children. Gale's heart swelled, her vision blurring a little. _Maybe Father is gone, but at least Mother is still here._

Zephyr cleared his throat, then broke the silence. "It's time we are reunited with the rest of our tribe." There were uneasy movements as some of the Flawed dragons shifted nervously.

"Please, there is no need to worry," Sunset said surely. "I will make sure you all are welcomed back into the tribe. Discrimination will be abolished."

"Let's go to the Sky Palace," Harrier alighted down next to them. "Of course, I'm quite hoping to get my job of advisor back. It seems as though Queen Sunset will be merciful. Right, Your Newest Majesty?"

Sunset only glanced at him before launching off to the palace.

"It's better to wait until she officially does it later," Whirlwind affirmed.

"Of course, I know," Harrier acknowledged with a flick of his tail. After all, I'm supposed to be an advisor. But, thanks for telling me."

* * *

The ceremony of the new queen flew by. Gale wanted to pay attention to it, but she still had the lingering thoughts from the battle. The new ruler, Queen Sunset, made her speech as the wrap-up of the ceremony. Gale didn't even know what happened during the inauguration even when it was over, with everyone pledging their loyalty and bowing down to the new queen. Even the SkyWings who originally supported Topaz seemed to have no hesitation about their new queen. She was, in the past, quite popular with the tribe, but during Topaz's tyranny, most had too much fear in their hearts to retaliate against her.

At least the tribe respected Sunset enough, so that none had a desire to challenge her.

At this time, night was falling already. The tribes that remained decided on a burning the dead on the battlefield, as a reminder that the tribes should not fight again. The comrades of the fallen warriors gathered around their bodies and lit them on fire.

Those who could not find their comrades' missing bodies simply stood to the edges of the land that was once a battlefield, bowing their heads silently. Gale was searching through the bodies until Kunzite called her over. "Gale! I found Beryl." Her words shook a little at the end of the sentence.

Gale came over, feeling a lump in her throat as she saw his body. She also remembered that Cyclone was dead, too. A couple other unfamiliar dragons were gathered around him, most likely his other friends.

 _Beryl,_ Gale thought silently, clasping her front talons together. _Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry I never really thought you acted serious… you are truly a savior. Wherever you are, you can rest peacefully now._

Gale's thoughts drifted over to Courage, and she raised her head to see if he was anywhere near. She was startled to see him, in the distance, bowed over a fallen NightWing. _He has fallen friends, too. Most of everyone here does._

"Are you his friends?" one of the unfamiliar SkyWings around Beryl asked Gale and Kunzite.

Gale nodded once. "I'm sorry."

Kunzite, usually the talkative one, said little. She dipped her head solemnly. "We will grieve with your loss."

"You can join in with us to honoring his spirit," another SkyWing, seemingly Beryl's father, said. "After all, you were his friends, weren't you two?" He breathed a small plume of fire first. After each dragon took a turn, besides Kunzite, Gale added her flame to Beryl's body. As his body burned, Gale looked up at the stars.

Kunzite scooted closer to her. "He's up there, don't you think? I mean, when IceWings pass away, I believe the auroras in our territory are spirits. But maybe SkyWings reside up in the stars."

"I'm sure they do," Gale managed a sad smile. "I'm happy I found out that my mother is alive, but… we lost friends too, didn't we?"

"You're here," Typhoon panted, racing up to her. "Whirlwind and I have been looking around for you guys." Whirlwind came up quietly behind his sister. Surprisingly, the usually calm dragon was dragging his wings.

Seeing that only made Gale feel like her heart was tearing even more. "Whirlwind?"

Typhoon wrapped a wing around Whirlwind. "We all need the comfort we can get."

"Um… excuse me for a moment," Gale stumbled past her siblings and Kunzite. She looked away from the burning bodies and the comrades gathered around. She didn't want any of this. _I wish everything would go back to normal_ , she thought despairingly. _All this fighting shouldn't have existed. It's only ever caused pain for everyone involved._

Gale passed the dragons who were watching the honorary rituals. One of them was Torrid, who turned and watched her go.

Gale stopped and remembered the SandWing from earlier. Torrid gave her a nod of acknowledgement. Gale wondered why she bothered to do something like that. Perhaps it was because they, in that brief moment in battle, fought together, even if they were complete strangers.

The wingless dragon eventually slowed to a stop. She was alone now on the rocky terrain. She found a boulder jutting out, and leaped on it to settle down and put her head on her paws.

For what seemed like dark eternity, she finally heard the light tapping of talons upon solid rock.

"You don't have to hesitate," Gale said softly, raising her head. "If you're here to simply give me company, that's all I need."

Courage came up the boulder and sat down next to her. "So, are you planning to come back to live with your mother? She wasn't supposed to be the heir to the SkyWing throne, but perhaps customs can change. And… it's still hard to believe that you were a hidden animus." He twined his tail with hers in a comforting way. Her heart lifted a little.

"I'm not so sure of what to do," Gale replied unsurely, leaning against his shoulder. "After everything that's happened… even if my tribe does accept my mother as the new queen, it'll be harder for the Flawed. If the other SkyWings let the Flawed in again—they won't accept us readily. Most of them lived out their lives knowing only that the flawed dragons were scorned and looked down upon." She paused for a moment, collecting the rest of her thoughts. "Perhaps it is best if I myself returned, despite the fact that I might not mingle easily with the rest. Maybe, overtime, I will."

Courage sighed. "Yes, I'm sure Zephyr will attempt to let the Flawed into the SkyWing tribe again, now that the kingdom is under a new ruler."

"What about you?" Gale asked. "You're returning to the Rain Kingdom, aren't you?"

Courage's wings drooped a little. "Yes, with my tribe. You know, dragons of different tribes don't usually meet together. Will I ever see you again?"

Gale nudged the NightWing's shoulder. "Come on, Courage, we can always write letters to each other. Have messengers fly them over? We can even arrange secret trips."

"You can't just do that," Courage started to protest. "What messenger would want to fly over from one end of Pyrrhia to another just to give a letter? Besides, that's not what you call a trip, it's more like a journey. And what would you mother do if—"

Before Courage could say any further, Gale kissed him lightly on the cheek.

He stared at her. "Falling meteors, what—"

"Let's get going, shall we?" Gale interrupted with an unusual confidence that she'd seemingly never had, tugging at his wing. "We can't mope around for the rest of the night. Beryl—Beryl wouldn't want us to be sad for him, would he?"

"You're right," Courage smiled. "It's best if we can cheer our friends up."

The NightWing and SkyWing walked off together, under the dim light of the three moons.


End file.
